Don’t pack away your feather costumes yet, London’s Notting Hill Carnival is NOT cancelled after all, but moving entirely online this year during the bank holiday weekend in August.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced in May that London’s Notting Hill Carnival would not be going ahead in its usual form for the first time in its 54 year history, but, in what could be the biggest pivot of this whole Covid period, it’s been announced that there is a solution. Notting Hill Carnival: Access All Areas will be streamed for free over four separate channels during the bank holiday weekend instead.
We, along with a global audience, can now experience the carnival Steel Bands, Sound Systems, Mas Bands, Brazilian Bands, Calypso and Soca performances, food and drink shows, interviews and much more, from the safety of our homes.
This year’s unique carnival has been filmed over a month-long period. This collaborative process brought together members and bands of the carnival community who make Carnival so amazing every year, Notting Hill Carnival Ltd in partnership with Let’s Go Do and with the support of Kensington and Chelsea Council, Westminster Council and the Greater London Authority.
“We may not be able to celebrate together on the streets as usual, but we can all come together to celebrate one of the UK’s great cultural events online.”
Spotify will also be showing its support for carnival as an official partner for 2020. The collaboration will see a dedicated Spotify microsite launch later in August, highlighting the importance of carnival culture to the UK. www.spotify.com/carnival will feature brand new playlists curated by each of the official sound systems and the DJs of Carnival. The site will also host podcast episodes covering everything from Notting Hill Carnival’s rich history to current issues facing the Black community, as well as very special guest takeovers of some of the UK’s biggest dancehall, reggae, soca and afrobeat playlists, including the flagship Who We Be.
The three-day spectacle of music, dancing, food and drink will be brought to you by those that have made the event the breathtaking weekend we love today. A full list of performers and sets is available on the Notting Hill Carnival website.
Matthew Phillip, Executive Director of Notting Hill Carnival, said: “This year we faced the ultimate challenge of being unable to gather on the streets to celebrate our Carnival. But, now, more than ever, it’s important to keep the spirit of Notting Hill Carnival alive, giving an outlet to the thousands of people that spend all year creating incredible costumes and music for Europe’s largest event.
“Carnival is such an important part of people’s lives and key celebration of the multiculturalism of the UK, and we have a responsibility to our community and pioneers to honour that. We also have a responsibility to protect the Black community and our elders by respecting social distancing and taking Carnival away from the streets for this year. So, this is a fantastic solution for 2020.
“We may not be able to celebrate together on the streets as usual, but we can all come together to celebrate one of the UK’s great cultural events online.”
Notting Hill Carnival will be streamed for free over four separate channels during the August Bank Holiday from 6pm – Midnight on 29 August and 9am – 11pm on Sunday & Monday 30 & 31 August 2020.
Register on the Notting Hill Carnival website www.NHCarnival.org.
