Cancel the Notting Hill Carnival!

[Witchofwisteria]

AIBU. This year police have confiscated 49 knives and 70 offensive weapons total, including ACID and stun guns plus one stabbing. Over 400 people were arrested, up from 313 last year and I am starting to wonder when enough will be enough.

The streets are left in a state after the event and the cost to taxpayer is astronomical. I feel like the Notting hill carnival has lost its way and turned into a breeding ground for opportunistic thugs. The thought that someone was wondering round with ACID, willing to throw it into a crowd and scar however many tens of people it sprayed on is beyond sick. We are quite happy to say terrorists are a major threat to Londoners but these groups are a MUCH worse threat to our daily lives and it's just too risky to have this event when we know it's going to attract these nasty individuals and gangs.

I'm totally not a fuddy duddy and appreciate that things like rubbish being left and dirty streets are always going to happen with big public festivals (like Brighton Pride) but Notting hill is just seeming to get more sinister each year.

Time to cancel the festival for 1 year, sit down and re think how this could be made into a ticketed festival in 2020. The price of the ticket will help pay for the extra policing and security, fencing and security around the cordoned off area and contribute towards charities the festival supports. Think Hyde park concerts in the park type event, we need to keep people safe.

I've been and positively hated it, the crowds pushing, the smell of cannabis and the blatant drug use. As the years have gone on the reported figures of drug arrests has increased - sticking carnival on the end of an area in London isn't going to make drugs suddenly legal. Knife crime - sticking carnival on the end of an area in London isn't going to make knife crime suddenly legal. And as for the repulsive attitude to the police. These are the people who say they 'ate police, then they'll be the first ones to call if someone upsets them. It sickens me.

the carnival nay sayers always come across a bit racist tbh. they have no problem with violence and drugtaking when done by white people.

www.vice.com/en_uk/article/zmmy89/proof-carnival-has-less-crime-than-the-uks-other-big-summer-events

Glastonbury is held in a massive field outside of a residential area. As are most large music festivals - NHC is not a festival, it’s a street parade that is a massive pain in the arse to the vast majority of local residents & shop keepers.

A million people went.
400 arrests is a tiny proportion
There were no murders
There were no acid attacks
One man was stabbed on Monday night, true. But again, literally one in a million.

It probably is annoying for local residents but has been going on for longer than they have been there. Yes it got bigger, but really anyone who moved there In the last three decades knew what it was.

I can't be arsed with it any more. It is too big, too slow to move around, takes ages to get on to public transport after. But of 15 years attendance, I've never felt threatened except by the possibility of getting crushed in some stampede (which has also never happened but I did get kettled one year when they were holding people back to let
a vehicle through and ended up pinned against a police horse.

So I'm not sure I would say it was brilliant but it's certainly not as dangerous as lots of people make out. I've been kettled in a similar way going to football at Wembley and the crowds at Oxford Street tube are equally awful sometimes.

Some utter knobs go to carnival but it isn't a million people.tbere are far more Spanish teenagers stopping in the middle of walk way to take selfies.

The carnival is important and should not be shut down but it does need to be made safer.

Moving the carnival to an area where security style checks can be made and the area is sealed. The parade can take place across a large catwalk style stage and it can still be glorious.

As it stands now it is vulnerable to an attack of any kind, and above all future deaths should be avoided. Fortunately there were none this year.

Every year we say this, and nothing ever changes though. Don't hold your breath.

I've been a few times and it's an absolute dump. Bad atmosphere and everyone's pissed. No thanks.

I used to live in London and never actually visited it. I never had any desire too either.
I think you could easily get lost in white v black issues. However, the other festivals don’t generally impact on local businesses and residents in the same way. I think at any large scale event you will always have drugs. I think unless you have drug sniffer dogs at all these festivals etc you will never eradicate drugs. However, the violence NHC is known for us worrying and maybe moving to Hyde park would be better. I think it would be unfair to remove it totally but for the safety for everyone it needs to be on an open space.
I have several friends who work for the met and they totally hate NHC.

@Ummmmgogo I have issues with drug taking, knife crime and lack of respect for the police full stop.

@deepsea why is the carnival important?

RumCustard I am assuming you are being deliberately but just in case you don't know, Nott Hill Carnival is important culturally. Look it up on wiki if you don't know already the reasons for the carnival.

I know the reasons (used to live there) but it's still overwhelming unpleasant apart from occasional little pockets of fun.

Agree open space would be much easier to manage. Your trapped in noting Hill, barriers, narrow streets...

It can't be that unpleasant or over a million people wouldn't spend their bank holiday weekend there. It's an iconic part of London life. Nobody's obliged to go.

It's not like it was when it started though - I've been here 30 years (DH 45 years) and it had changed a hell of a lot from a local celebration to an event where people come from all over the world to party in the small streets of West London.

I have been twice. The first time was 21 years ago when I was 18 and I went with my friend. I found it quite intimidating then at times as a young woman - men who invaded your personal space, got really close in a way that had sexual undertones. Lots of drunks, people high on stuff. It was exciting at times but scary as well and we saw a number if fights.
I went with DH and a couple of our friends about 5 or 6 years ago and we all said we would not go back. Just didn't feel safe. Big groups of young men, lots of posturing and showing off, numerous fights, drunks, drugs. We saw a fight that involved two men and both had knives- which the police were onto really quickly and took them away. Hands on you in crowds. People who had stuff stolen- a guy whose wallet was taken from his pocket. Drunk girls who were really vulnerable . It felt like a bit of a oressure cooker at times. The police were really out in force and that was reassuring. The carnival stuff was great.
The atmosphere is really exciting in places and we enjoyed lots of it but often we found it uncomfortable and didn't feel safe. Perhaps we are just not very streetwise, too old for it , northerners not used to that sort of atmosphere. There were lots of people who seemed a lot more comfortable than us.

Actually the Countryside March that went through London in the early 2000's had over 100,000 people and there was no litter left at all.
For those people that say rubbish is inevitable.

I was carrying out a shop fit over carnival weekend a couple of years ago right in the centre and was amazed by it all

It stated the week before with a lot of local residents leaving for a week , nearly all the businesses close and board up their windows as do a lot of residential properties on the route , these are all immediately covered in graffiti
The first day on Sunday is considered Family day and to start with seemed ok , plenty of police and hoards of people , by 3pm the crowds male and female were just urinating everywhere as they drank more and more
There was a heavy smell of weed everywhere , to start the police intervened but eventually gave up with people peeing any where that they thought was discreet , shop doorways, front gardens etc
We left about 4
The next day was a whole different atmosphere a lot more young men roaming in groups the urinating stated earlier and we got the hell out about 1pm
The following day we returned to a whole load of rubbish which was being cleared up by the organisers .The shop we were working on was on a street of foodstalls , the one in front of us was from the philipines, the guy brings all 20 of his staff in every year just for this weekend and said he takes about £100k over the weekend which makes it worthwhile ( all cash ) that presumably goes straight back to the philippines
The floats etc were very good and quite a spectacle but everything else was a big price to pay .The disruption was massive and the cost of policing enormous, I am not sure how it compares to football for instance or other festivals
If you tried to cancel it for a year there would be uproar from the current attendees and you would probably be labelled rascist

I think that if the police arrested everyone for an offence there would probably be a riot so alot goes unreported
Just my experience

Kensington Temple is always open and welcoming at carnival time.

People - please don't make this about race. Let's not get lost in that debate, the argument here is that this carnival is totally inappropriate for its current location and security is not sufficient. People of all races and backgrounds attend, you cannot say anyone is attacking a singular group because the carnival is a major attraction for all types of people. It's like pride, it's attended by LOADS of straight people just going down for a good time. I bet that almost all of the arrests are from people that have nothing to do with Carribean culture. As we have all kind of agreed on, its the bad element it's attracted over the years which is totally separate and against the whole intended spirit of the event which has caused problems.

Keep the message of the carnival alive, put it in one location, ticket the event, police it like any concert where you cannot go in or out without having a ticket and maybe we can bring back the family friendly good times the carnival started as instead of this absolute unsafe shambles it's become.

Changes have to be made or I feel one day someone with big balls in government will just pull the plug and you will be left with nothing.

It's a victim of its own success. Too many people in a crammed space.

I used to live there just off Ladbroke Grove. All my neighbours disappeared on Friday afternoon and i wondered why. By Sunday afternoon, I knew exactly why.

Its quite threatening and very unpleasant to be around (not to mention noisy when you've got to get up for work in three hours and the parties are still going.

Have you seen the video of the policeman getting kicked when trying to arrest someone?

If someone wants that, then have the party in your own street, not mine.

Yes, cancel it.

I wouldnt go. It honestly looks like a trashy, vulgar event. I cant even see what's the appeal. I personally think its past it's time now. It should be moved or discontinued.

You would think carnival happens everyday. Why don't you say what you really want to say? Say it with your chest.

I can’t say it looks at all inviting, but I imagine a lot of people would be upset if it was cancelled. Not the ones in the fancy houses though, I’m sure.

Or my BIL and SIL and everyone else in their run down council block.

The music is so loud, they can actually feel it in their chests and vibrating in their flat all night.

So they did what they always do and take the kids to stay with relatives...hoping they won't come back to a burgled flat, as they have done 4 times in the last 6 years.

It's pathetic trying to make this about race.