AIBU to feel angry about Notting Hill Carnival behaviour?

[ProudBlackMomma]

Any other London folk mortified by the Notting Hill carnival? Hundreds of arrests, lewd behaviour, vulgarity and litter. It does not represent my culture. It’s an embarrassment.

Did you see the photos of the appalling state the place was left in after the festival-goers had departed?

500 arrests at Reading or Glasto? Anyone found with a gun at Glastot?

Me!

I am a bit too old for large crowds now but I have been to NHC before and had a fantastic time. I may go again in the future with friends who are regulars. My ultimate aim is to go to both the Grenada and Trinidad carnivals (and also Rio.)

You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about.

You’ve honestly never seen young girls unconscious from alcohol/drug at Reading ? It’s not uncommon at all at Reading.

I've never known it any different, and I think it's just criminals rather to do with any particular heritage. Criminals will always find a way to ruin something.

as a Londoner and music lover I went once when I was 17 (over 20 years ago) and a girl pulled a knife on me when I was walking through a side street with a friend. She asked me for money and then pulled the knife when I said no, thankfully some older people intervened and we managed to escape. So I never went again. Every year you just expect that there will be a whole load of shit, it’s a free carnival in the middle of a major city that already has a high crime rate, so it seems to be free pickings for those wanting to cause trouble or rob people. Such a shame for those that genuinely want to have a nice time. It should be a celebration not a meet up for criminals.

The police might get involved 10% of the time, and arrest a %, so the 500 arrests points to a much higher number of incidents.

Do Reading or Glastonbury have 2m attendees and open entry?

Have you actually ever walked around Notting hill?? If you think the 5 storey town houses are owned by us commoners then you’re deluded.

Callous to point out people moving into the area are probably aware of the carnival?

It can be moved out of a residential area. It is now too big for a residential area. It’s not size appropriate. Families live there that feel unsafe. They matter.

or are you saying Only Party Goers Matter.

To compare with other large events especially music festivals:

By total arrests, Notting Hill Carnival is way out in front (528 arrests in 2025 alone), plus stabbings and weapon seizures most years. Nothing else is close.

But by arrest rate per head, Carnival actually looks fairly average (roughly 0.3–0.5 arrests per 1,000, given 1-2 million attendees), lower than Creamfields (~1.5 per 1,000) or Belladrum (4.7 per 1,000).

Where Carnival really stands apart isn’t the arrest rate, it’s the severity. Music festivals mostly see drink/drug-related arrests; the Carnival regularly sees stabbings (eight in 2024 alone), firearms seizures, and dozens of officers injured, which just doesn’t happen at Creamfields or Leeds. It’s also the only one where police have openly flagged the risk of a “mass casualty event” due to crowd density. So while your odds of being arrested are lower than at some smaller festivals, the scale of serious violence and the policing operation needed (7,000+ officers, £12m cost) puts it in a different category entirely.

You have walked around the area. You have seen tall houses. Congrats.

Youve no idea what you’re talking about.

I live in Bristol where the St Pauls Carnival takes place (well it used to, it's been in a hiatus since 2023). Obviously it's not as big as Notting Hill but it's still pretty famous and attracts huge numbers. People are citing football matches and music festivals but unlike those, these Carnivals were originally intended as a celebration of grass roots messages, community cohesion and cultural representations. All of which has been largely lost in a drug, booze and crime fest.

The number of arrests does not reflect the number of crimes. I went once in my youth never again. Saw someone bleeding profusely and girls complaining of inappropriate sexual behaviour , when they couldn’t even stand up due to drink , drugs whatever. We didn’t stay an hour.

Getting assaulted or stabbed is though.

The London Marathon also affects residents every year, with extensive road closures, parking suspensions, and crowded public transport along the 26 mile route, don't see you objecting to that.

Do stabbings not happen on the other days of the year then?

And marathon mess also needs cleaning up every year.

You could be talking about any of the events listed there, can you specify which you mean?

I think all carnivals/festivals experience some trouble, be it fighting or drugs etc. There’s always some who ruin if for others and the press love to shine a light on Carnival especially.

No, you are kidding yourself. I don’t even think you believe that yourself, but if you do you are naive.

I am a Slavic woman currently living in the UK, but I have attended many festivals and concerts all over Europe, Far East Asia and Australia. I have also attended carnival in both London and Manchester years ago- never again.

These problems are absolutely exclusive to Carnival, it attracts a certain crowd which would not represent the majority of other festivals- the UK roadman. They are very different from any other groups of men I have observed abroad. These are not just men from Afro/Carribean backgrounds, but chavs trying to immerse themselves into the culture.

I agree with the OP that this behaviour does not respect Afro/Carribean culture, I have met many Africans and found them to be wholesome with traditional values. It is actually UK culture which has been heavily influenced by grime and drill music which is the problem. And unfortunately represent most of those who attend Carnival each year.

Our @ProudBlackMomma (🤨)only ever manages thinly-veiled racism. They're never ballsy enough to just say what they mean.

Glad I'm not the only one to have noticed that.

I regretfully , after years of really wanting to see the Notting Hill Carnival we went