NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL AT 60
On the back of the 60th anniversary edition of Notting Hill Carnival, its CEO Matthew Phillip outlines what changes in funding and responsibilities meant for the organisation of the event, and why it is vital the carnival remains free to attend.
This year’ s Notting Hill Carnival( NHC), which ran from 29-30 August, marked the event’ s 60th anniversary. An explosion of spectacular costumes and pumping rhythms against a backdrop of colourful Caribbean culture and cuisine, Notting Hill Carnival attracts around 2 million people each year and contributes an estimated £ 400 million to the economy.
The seeds that would later flourish and grow into the world’ s secondlargest street Carnival were first laid back in 1959. Racial tensions were high at the time in Notting Hill after riots, sparked by racially motivated attacks by white youths, had broken out in the neighbourhood the previous year.
With far-right groups, including the White Defence League and Oswald Mosley’ s Union Movement, increasingly active in the area, Trinidadian human rights activist Claudia Jones organised the Caribbean Carnival in St Pancras Town Hall in January 1959. Her aim was to celebrate Caribbean culture and strengthen community spirit.
The murder of aspiring lawyer Kelso Cochrane in May 1959, in what is widely believed to have been a racially motivated attack, saw more than a thousand mourners take to the streets to pay their respects. It also led to a drive to improve race relations, with the Government launching a public inquiry.
In 1966, local resident and social worker Rhaune Laslett launched the first festival to take place on the streets of Notting Hill, which would later evolve into the Notting Hill Carnival.
30 accessaa. co. uk