Is Notting Hill Carnival worth the risk?

Safety concerns around Notting Hill Carnival are nothing new. During last year’s event alone, 334 people were arrested and two people were killed, including 32 year-old Cher Maximen, who was stabbed to death in front of her young daughter during the festival’s ‘family day’. Forty-one year-old Mussie Imnetu was beaten to death during a separate altercation after the festival. Another eight non-fatal stabbings were also recorded.

But while so often the focus is on knife-crime, there is another, more fundamental, safety risk that has long been ignored: overcrowding. In a new report, the London Assembly’s police and crime committee has warned that Notting Hill Carnival is at risk of a Hillsborough-scale tragedy unless action is taken. It says the Metropolitan Police have consistently raised concerns about a ‘mass casualty event’ and calls on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to urgently review crowd safety measures – including pinch points and stewarding.

Yet these concerns are nothing new either.