MPA calls for urgent action to change Carnival route to avoid future tragedy

85/04
25 November 2004

The Metropolitan Police Authority is demanding urgent action to change the route of the Notting Hill Carnival in time for next summer’s event to avoid a possible tragedy due to overcrowding.

MPA Chair Len Duvall said today that a new linear route needed to be planned in order to avoid a catastrophe due to the dangerously high density of the crowds in and around the traditional circular route.

“We have been discussing this proposal for far too long without action being taken. It is now time for the head scratching to stop and for all of those concerned to come up with a linear route in time for next year’s event that is safe for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who attend this showcase event.

“There are simply too many people in and around the carnival area and it is only a matter of time before people are crushed to death. If a decision is not taken soon I will ask the Metropolitan Police to act to enforce a new route based on the health and safety of visitors and police alike.”

Lee Jasper, Chair of the Mayor’s Notting Hill Carnival Review Group, who presented the findings and recommendations of the final report to the MPA, said:

“The simple truth is that the London Notting Hill Carnival will not be able to go ahead unless we take action to move away from a circular rout to reduce the density of the crowds.”

The MPA also endorsed the Review’s recommendations for a more structured approach to stewarding of the event and self-financing through sponsorship.

Notes to editors

1. The final report of the Mayor’s Carnival Review Group, which was published in June this year, is the culmination of three and a half years investigation into the management, organisation and funding of the Notting Hill Carnival. It makes a number of recommendations with a view to achieving a long-term positive and systemic change, recognising that in the past whilst it has been second only in size to the Rio Carnival in Brazil, the infrastructure and resources supporting the carnival have been wholly inconsistent with its scale.

2. The MPA has considered issues in connection with the Carnival on a regular basis in the past. There have been concerns about the management of this major event with particular concerns about stewarding arrangements. When these have been inadequate the MPS has had to play a greater role than should perhaps be expected of it. The need for a linear route has also been consistently expressed by the MPA in the past.

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