Photo Essay: Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival 2007

The Notting Hill Carnival takes place every year in London during the August Bank Holiday. It is the second Carnival after that of Rio for number of participants (almost 2.000.000 in the last edition).

The roots of this huge, colourful party can be traced in Trinidad, from where many of the immigrants that started the London Carnival in the ’50s came.

At the beginning, it was held indoors, and represented – for the few Caribbean immigrants that took part in it – both a celebration of their culture and a reaction to the racial tensions surrounding them. Only by the mid ‘60s the Carnival moved outdoors, involving the inhabitants of the Notting Hill area.

In the following decade the Carnival evolved, mirroring the growing presence of Afro-Caribbean communities in Britain, but also the political and social contrasts of the age: in 1976 it became the scene of harsh street fights between the police and young Caribbean, with acts of vandalism and more than 160 injuries. The strong racial tensions of the time would reach their climax in the Brixton and Toxteth riots in the early ‘80s. The incidents during the Carnival were given ample attention by the media, so that it was even suggested to cancel it. But it must be also acknowledged that the revolts had a positive side-effect: they actually accelerated the enactment of the important Race Relations Act of 1976, forbidding any kind of racial discrimination.

In the ‘80s the relations between different communities became more relaxed; moreover, Notting Hill gradually turned into a fashionable residential area; this contributed to change the nature of the Carnival, eventually transforming it into an unmissable event for tourists and Londoners alike, with a massive organization and the security granted by an impressive deployment of security forces (11.000 policemen in the 2007 edition). Notwithstanding a 25% drop in crime from the 2006 edition, this year the police has arrested 150 people, the tension reaching its peak after the stabbing of a youth and the shooting of two teenagers.

However, despite some isolated incidents, the Carnival is still a peaceful and loud collective party, which often mirrors (at times anticipates) fashions and trends.

The basic ingredients though are always the same: the masquerade, the floats with the steel bands and the glittering costumes of dancers of all the ages. Each group of dancers gets inspiration from a theme, often connected with tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Everybody participates in the organization: costumes, choreographies and soundtracks are planned out with extreme carefulness, thanks to the collaboration of participants that often dedicate months to the preparation of the event.

Besides the parade, today the Carnival also hosts sound systems, after parties and a great variety of musical styles, meeting everybody’s taste: R&B, hip hop, reggae, ska, salsa, calypso, soca, dancehall and rocksteady merge in the overcrowded streets of the neighbourhood for two days.

The Notting Hill Carnival not only measures the temper and trends of the most multicultural city in Europe, but evolves with it, thus offering its participants a unique, unforgettable experience.