Notting Hill Carnival Cancelled For Second Year In A Row

Notting Hill Carnival Cancelled For Second Year In A Row

Notting Hill Carnival Cancelled For Second Year In A Row. Image: Twitter

Notting Hill Carnival Cancelled For Second Year In A Row.

FOR the second year in a row, the Notting Hill Carnival has been cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions not being fully eased.

The event’s organisers have decided to move it off the streets in its 55th year.

The move comes as the postponement of ‘Freedom Day,’ originally scheduled for June 21, ensures that social distancing measures remain in place – something organiser Matthew Phillip said would be “devastating” for Europe’s largest street festival.

Notting Hill Carnival, which was forced online last year because of the epidemic, attracts almost two million visitors annually.

The board of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd stated in a statement that this year’s festival in London “will not take place on the streets due to the ongoing uncertainty and risk posed by Covid-19.”

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision,” the statement continued.

“Everyone involved in the event desperately wants a return to the road where carnival belongs but safety has to come first and with the latest cautious announcement on the government’s road map, this is the only way to ensure that. “In making this decision, we have considered our responsibilities to deliver a safe, spectacular, successful and sustainable carnival.

“The conclusion is that with so much uncertainty, with time short for carnivalists to prepare and the risk of eventual cancellation a real possibility, we must refocus our efforts for 2021.” Mr Phillip, who is chief executive of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, told MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in February: “It would be very difficult to hold Carnival in its traditional format on the streets with social distancing in place. It would be devastating for a second year in a row.”

As reported by The Mirror

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Natasha Brewer

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