Notting Hill Carnival

As August comes to a close and the despondence of late subsides, a familiar piquant returns in all its inimitable abundance to restore a sense of pride and community. I am of course talking about the Notting Hill Carnival. And as Europe’s largest street festival draws ever closer and thousands make their final preparations, London can look forward to some much needed merriment.

Carnival, enjoying its 47th birthday this weekend, is a celebration of the diversity and expressive cultures of the Caribbean. It combines the lustrous glint of the steel pan with the melodious songs of calypso, and innumerable and marvelously decorated masquerade bands, resplendent in degrees and hues of colour, meander through saturated streets whilst West London reverberates with the visceral, heavy bass of the sound systems. Crowds of up to a million attend, reveling in the carnivals enduring spirit of optimism.

However, when riots broke out across the capital earlier this month, concerns emerged about whether the two-day event would take place.

The fear was that a minority intent on causing trouble would use the carnival as an opportunity to ferment further disturbances. But the organisers were adamant that the festival should go ahead. Christopher Boothman, the carnival’s co-director said,

To cancel it would have a negative impact on London's economy and reputation as a centre for successful major events. Trouble makers or those who seek to cast a shadow over this vibrant event are not welcome.

But despite being endorsed by the organizers and given the go ahead by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, there were concerns over the Met’s policing strategy. Confidence in the police’s ability to maintain law and order was damaged following their handling of the riots that engulfed parts of the city and many felt they could not effectively police the carnival and prevent another conflagration.

These concerns were addressed on Tuesday when Scotland Yard announced that 16,000 police officers would be on duty across London during the bank holiday weekend. Commander Steve Rodhouse, the Met's spokesman for the Notting Hill carnival, said that in light of the “unusual and exceptional” circumstances surrounding this year’s carnival, “it is important to show that London is open for business”.

The Met has already arrested 40 individuals as part of their preemptive Razorback operation and will be carrying out intelligence based weapons sweeps in the coming days as well as employing stop and search powers and screening wards during the carnival itself.

On Sunday, 5,500 officers will be on duty, whilst on bank holiday Monday, the more popular of the two days, 6,500 officers will be on the streets, 1,500 more than last year. As well as those officers policing the carnival area, an extra 4,000 police officers will be deployed throughout London. Boothman, who endorsed the record numbers of police, encouraged people to “come early, enjoy themselves, and get home safely”.

Yet despite unease over the safety of the event, Scotland Yard stressed that levels of crime and disorder are low and reducing, with an average crime rate of 250 mostly low level offences. “We've worked closely with the Carnival organisers” said Rodhouse, adding that the Met is “determined that any criminal minority will not be allowed to ruin this event for those who wish to attend”.

So despite fears of a last minute cancellation, this weekend’s festivities will go ahead. Carnival has become, over its long and colourful history, an integral part of Britain’s cultural fabric, and continues to make an important contribution to the capital and society. It is this aspect of carnival, uplifting and effulgent, bringing communities together in times of hardship and uncertainty that should be cherished and safeguarded. And so if music be the food of love, then play on carnival and give us plenty of it.

Mathieu Milbourne