NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL
“ We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities all live in a very congested area, there is very little communication between us. If we can infect them with a desire to participate, then this can only have good results,” Laslett is reported to have said of the motivation behind the launch of the 1966 event, which was primarily organised for local children.
To this day NHC remains a communityled event, albeit one that has built a global audience that grew to more than 7 million when digital activity was stepped up during the Covid-19 shutdown. It remains firmly rooted in Caribbean culture, and while the Windrushgeneration influence remains strong, its organisers have always moved with the times.
In 1973, then NHC organiser Leslie Palmer MBE introduced multiple static sound systems, a feature for which the event has become world-famous. The Carnival saw the first live performance stages introduced by Wilf Walker in 1979. Among the first acts to perform were Aswad and Eddy Grant, and since then NHC has seen an array of stars take to its stages, including Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, Busta Rhymes, Stormzy and Craig David.
The event has also been established as a launch pad for emerging acts, with the Wilf Walker Community Stage launched in 2018 to showcase young talent predominantly from the local community.
Matthew Phillip
A diamond pleaser
Like many who work on it, current NHC CEO Matthew Phillip has been closely involved with the event throughout his life. He made his NHC debut aged two, in a pushchair, and can recall attending regularly during his childhood donning flamboyant costumes and even driving floats.
Phillip’ s father was a co-founder of one of the oldest and most popular Mas bands in London; the Mangrove Masquerade Band – Mas being short for masquerade. The steel band has been a prominent feature of NHC for more than four decades.
The beating heart of NHC is The Tabernacle in the centre of Notting Hill. The Romanesque former church has acted as the event’ s HQ since Phillip took over the running of it in 2018. As well as being central to the event’ s planning, it is a creative hub that hosts everything from costume creators to band rehearsals.
When it comes to the team of people responsible for bringing Carnival to life every August bank holiday weekend, Phillip says the diverse group mirrors the event itself – a mixture of people from all walks of life:“ Carnival brings people together, not just over the weekend but in a professional capacity. There are people
like our assistant director for Notting Hill Carnival Anthea Hudson, who you could call a Carnival baby. She grew up in Mas Camps and around steel bands. Her grandmother was integral to making the costumes for early carnivals. But it takes so many people from different backgrounds to make sure that it happens in a coordinated way.”
While there have been suggestions that ticketing NHC would provide logistical benefits, Phillip emphasised that the lack of a ticket price remains vital to maintaining the event’ s inclusivity and diversity.
“ Just reaching 60 years, I think, is a monumental achievement,” he says.“ Carnival is a magical place that you can come and explore for free. It’ s always been about inclusion and bringing people together and one of the main reasons it has been able to do that is because there’ s no cost of admission. People can come, bring their own packed lunch, and immerse themselves in what I would describe as pure joy. I’ ve never seen an event space that has so much diversity. Yes, it’ s rooted in Caribbean culture but its arms are wide open and that is reflected in who attends Carnival; people come from all over the world.”
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