Notting Hill Carnival needs "urgent funding" from government to secure future, leaked letter reveals

Notting Hill Carnival's future will be "in jeopardy" without increased funding from the UK government, a leaked letter to BBC News has revealed.

According to BBC News, Carnival chair Ian Comfort wrote to Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy to appeal for "urgent funding" was needed from the government to protect “the future and public safety of this iconic event”.

While no exact sum was given, Comfort had requested additional funding to provide stewards and crowd management professionals for the annual August Bank Holiday event. 

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He claims cuts to the Metropolitan Police "has restricted the police service's ability to respond to growing operational pressures," and that extra staffing is "now essential to allow the police to focus on their primary role of crime prevention and public protection”.

The request comes following a review of Notting Hill Carnival, during which Met police shared concerns that dangerous crowd density throughout the West London event could result in a mass-casualty event. 

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As Europe's largest street festival, attended annually by around 2 million people, Notting Hill Carnival is usually funded by local councils, arts grants and other donations — should its request be granted, this would mark the first time government funding had been provided for the event.

According to BBC News, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has said that it will respond "in due course."

[Via: BBC]

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter