JANUARY | FEATURE
where the costumes are made . I gradually went on to learn to play in the steel band and many years later took over as its manager in 1993 ,” he says .
The Mangrove Masquerade Band is based at The Tabernacle in Powis Square , a Romanesque former church that has become the hub of Carnival creativity and planning . The building is operated by Carnival Village Trust on behalf of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . As well as being executive director of Notting Hill Carnival , Phillip is also the CEO of the Trust .
In the build-up to Carnival , The Tabernacle is one of many venues to be transformed into a ‘ mas camp ’ as work is carried out to furnish the Mangrove band ’ s requirements for the big day .
“ In the months building up to the event , The Tabernacle is full of people preparing the costumes . It is very much a community setting , not a closed factory . You ’ ve got music playing and there ’ s multiple generations of people in there , you have parents and children , grandparents and grandchildren – everybody helps out . That ’ s just one band , and if you think Carnival is made up of about 80 masquerade bands , 15 or 16 steel bands and 38 sound systems – each one of those is a kind of mini community in itself ,” he says .
Phillip says the aim of the Carnival Village Trust is to ensure the skills associated with carnival arts , whether it is learning to play in a band , designing or making costumes , continue to be handed down through the generations .
Let ’ s get digital
With Carnival 2020 cancelled in the shadow of Covid-19 , Phillips and his team were left faced with the challenge of how to bring the vibrancy of Carnival alive on screen via a virtual event for the first time in its 54-year history .
The result was a suitably diverse array of entertainment , ranging from performances from from steel bands , sound systems , plus calypso and soca dancers to cookery shows and interviews with people who have been closely involved in the event during its evolution .
The Notting Hill Carnival 2020 : Access All Areas online event kicked off with a film shown on huge screens in Piccadilly Circus , in collaboration with event partner Samsung .
It also saw Spotify become an official partner , with the streaming giant creating a microsite featuring playlists curated by the Carnival sound systems and DJs . It also featured podcast episodes exploring the carnival ’ s history , and playlists such as dancehall , reggae , soca and afrobeat .
The majority of the event ’ s filmed content was broadcast on YouTube , which collectively attracted an audience of 7.2m .
“ The analytics showed that people tuned in from over 70 countries , so it was huge , it far exceeded our expectations ,” says Phillip . “ When we started to plan the alternatives for 2020 we were determined that everything that we did would not be a one-off , that they could sit alongside the real event when it came back to the streets and make it even better .”
The Carnival boss says its team is already working on more filmed content , highlighting the story behind Carnival , and they are looking to train people who want to become directors , editors or sound recordist .
Community spirit
“ We see it as a pathway to helping people in the local community get employment ,” says the Carnival boss .
Another philanthropic aspect of Carnival is the training and employment of locals as stewards , with around 15 % of the 1,100 stewards being from the West London community .
While Mckenzie Arnold provide the bulk of the stewarding and the logistics , the community stewarding programme was reinstated in 2018 – Phillip ’ s first year as event director .
He says , “ We believe that people who live in the area and are connected to Carnival are better placed to help . A lot of stewarding work is around managing crowds and directing people , so we find it very beneficial to have community stewards who know the area inside out . “ In addition to getting paid we offer them crowd safety training , free , so
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