United Kingdom: With just 16 days to go until the annual Notting Hill Carnival, its CEO says he is not worried that the event will be threatened by the current unrest in the United Kingdom.
Police remained on high alert across the country on Thursday after days of widespread rioting involving racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.
Matthew Phillip says while the situation is obviously concerning, the carnival is an “opportunity to remind people that we are all human beings” with “more in common than our differences”.
In fact the event, that started in the 1960s, was born out of a desire for unity among diverse communities.
“Notting Hill Carnival or Notting Hill as an area, always had diverse communities and they didn’t always get on as well as they do now,” he says.
“It’s a shame at the moment we have some people trying to push the differences that we have.”
The carnival has evolved into one of Europe’s largest street festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of people to London.
And so security is always a concern.
“We work closely with the Metropolitan Police on security matters, and I’m sure we’ll be having more and more conversations over the next couple of weeks,” he says.
Phillip adds that the Carnival relies on the police’s intelligence and capabilities to help, but that as a community, they also have a responsibility.
“It’s really a collective effort, keeping people safe. And we also rely on our communities and people in the area to kind of keep an eye out and help wherever possible.”
Spectators to the Carnival can feast on Caribbean food as they watch the elaborate floats and colourfully-dressed performers parade through the streets to the sound of steel bands and calypso music.
This year’s Notting Hill Carnival 2024 takes place around the streets of Notting Hill, Westbourne Green, North Kensington, and Ladbroke Grove on 24 to 26 August.
Aaron Chown /Africanews with AP
