It is time to reflect as the dust settles on another Notting Hill Carnival. On Tuesday morning, the last of the two million-strong Carnival Occupation Army left for a destination unknown, leaving a trail of destruction that would not look out of place in a war zone.
The orgy of violence and staggering law-breaking is largely ignored by the powers that be. Carnival is glorified in their newspapers. Four of the leading bourgeoisie newspapers, including the Financial Times, had articles that were nothing more than glorified adverts for the Carnival. All had uncritical interviews with the Carnival leader, Matthew Phillips. Phillip is the CEO of the Carnival development agency Carnival Village Trust and Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, which manages the Notting Hill Carnival.
Loud calls have been made to ban the Carnival, It is surely a matter of time before a Hillsborough-type disaster occurs. One came close on Monday when police withdrew people from Portobello Rd after it became dangerously overcrowded. It will be interesting to find out in the coming weeks how many people caught the new strain of COVID-19 that would have been spread by over two million people in close proximity to each other.
But there is not a snowball's chance in hell of it
being stopped. Carnival is big business. It generates over £100m in revenue and
has cultivated a layer of the black middle class that has done very well out of
Carnival. One of its more greedy representatives now sits in jail after
stealing nearly three-quarters of a million pounds from the Charity wing of the
Carnival.
Happy 2024 Carnival.
