Notting Hill Carnival’s boss has said its message of “diversity and inclusion” is just as important as the economic boost it gives London — with as many as two million people preparing to join Europe’s biggest street party over the bank holiday weekend.
Matthew Phillip, whose first experience of the event was being pushed round it as a baby in a buggy before graduating to a steel band, said the recent riots “absolutely” echoed the events in the 1950s that spurred on the carnival’s founders.
Its roots are in a Caribbean carnival set up following race riots in the west London neighbourhood in 1958, when it was a byword for poverty and bad housing rather than the gentrified area it has become.
That first Caribbean carnival, set up by activist Claudia Jones, took place in 1959 and ran for six years until her death, when social worker Rhaune Laslett organised an event for local children which featured a pan band performing in Portobello Road, with the two events eventually giving birth to Europe’s biggest street party.
Mr Phillip told the Standard: “That is why Carnival was set up in the first place, to bring people together. Notting Hill in the 1950s was a very different place to what it is now. This area had a lot of people coming in in terms of immigration and relationships were not the best and the event was set up to highlight the things we have in common.
“We are all human beings and it’s about coming together to celebrate and it’s always relevant, some might say more so given what’s happened up and down the UK in recent weeks. It‘s the biggest celebration of inclusion and diversity the UK has, if not Europe, and it’s very important it stays that way. If you come to carnival at the weekend you are going to see people from all walks of life, different backgrounds, essentially at ease with each other and enjoying themselves. Aside from any economic benefits the carnival brings to the UK, this is just as important bringing people together to celebrate.
“It’s a real pleasure to see people from all walks of life, different backgrounds, standing shoulder to shoulder enjoying the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Carnival.”
Weather forecasters are predicting sunshine for Sunday and Monday, which will guarantee a big turn-out with more up to two million people expected to come out onto the streets and give a huge boost to the capital’s economy.
Mr Phillip is keen to stress that Carnival’s enduring success is a team effort. He said: “In the sound systems it is not just the DJs who perform, there are all the people in the background who build them. Similarly with the Mas bands, you see the people in the costumes — but there are hundreds who have been working for months preparing them.”
The costumes have become more elaborate and music tastes change, but Mr Phillip insists this year’s carnival would still be recognisable to the pioneers who first brought the sights and sounds of the Caribbean to west London’s streets.
He said: “I think that’s partly why Carnival has remained in the hearts and minds of so many people because it is constantly evolving and it moves with the times.”
Mayor Sadiq Khan said the event has become “part of the fabric of our city”, and added: “It welcomes people from all over the world to enjoy fantastic food, fashion and music. It embodies everything that makes London the greatest city in the world and is a wonderful celebration of our capital’s diversity and unity.”
Keeping legacy of the sound systems alive
Linett Kamala played her first Notting Hill Carnival in 1985, at 15, and is now working to bring on a new generation of DJs behind the decks.
The 54-year-old, whose first memory of the event is as a five-year-old on her father’s shoulders in Ladbroke Grove, was introduced to sound systems as a teenager.
She said: “My best friend at school at the time, her brother was in sound and I knew I didn’t want to do costumes.
“I believed from a young age in equality and equity... so I just thought why can’t I be a DJ? The world was very blatant with the sexism...when I grew up but luckily they were like, ‘Yeah, just come through’.” The idea for her Lin Kam Art Sound System Futures Programme came during the pandemic when she was contacted by a would-be DJ asking how to get a slot at carnival. This year she has taken five young talents through a training scheme that will see them perform over the weekend to thousands.
Ms Kamala, below, said: “That moment gave me time to think who’s going to continue this legacy? What if you’re not born into sound systems, what if you don’t have a friend like I did? What if you’re a younger person? What if you’re female because there is still a big under-representation of females? I could go on.”
This year’s intake get to build their confidence DJ-ing at online sessions and at smaller events.
She said: “I teach them about the key moments, they all know it’s out of a racist murder why that event is even there. They then get to learn and meet some of the people behind the scenes. You have to start somewhere and I’m making space within this iconic event for that.”
