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Notting Hill Carnival not 'just a big street party' says CEO as Londoners react to cancellation

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Date18 June 2021
Published date18 June 2021
Publication titleMyLondon (England)
Speaking to My London following the announcement CEO Matthew Phillip said the decision to cancel Notting Hill Carnival cancelled for second year in a row was delayed as the board attempted to contact key participating bands and sound system organisers who make up a considerable amount of the event's entertainment.

Mr Phillip said: "We wanted to get their feel in terms of where they were at and readiness, how they felt about the carnival going ahead and if they'd be there because it's not something the board felt they could take in isolation -the views of all the participants was very important."

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On the possibility of holding the event using coronavirus tests or vaccine passports similar to Euro 2020 games at Wembley Stadium, Mr Phillip said it wouldn't in the "spirit of carnival" to turn people away.

"Carnival is about the freedom to be in the streets," Mr Phillip said.

He added: "We were given information about other test events that were happening, those events are not really relevant to Notting Hill Carnival, we have to be responsible and think about people's health.

"There are lots of test events happening in the recent weeks but they've been testing people and as long as you have a negative result you can go in -that’s not something that can be done at Notting Hill Carnival it’s such a big expanse, it’s a free event, the infrastructure isn't there.

"It'd be very expensive to put a gate around Notting Hill Carnival -that negates what carnival is about really."

In the wake of the announcement Mr Phillip said the carnival community must come together to raise the "serious revenue" needed to support its recovery for next year.

Although the decision to cancel would have remained the same, Mr Phillip added, the government's delay of the June 21 "Freedom Day" was "not helpful".

Mr Phillip said: "I'm not sure we would have been in a very different position if everything did...

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