Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

and delivering these events has grown considerably in the last two years and we believe that this
should continue with adequate financial support from arts funding bodies and the Carnival
organisers. The Carnival arenas should be responsible for providing the artistic direction and lead
on the staging of all pre-Carnival activities.
Achieving an Effective Communications Strategy: Key Messages
6. It is the responsibility of the Carnival organisers to drive the news agenda, rather than react to it.
The media should be positively engaged as strategic partners and greater use should be made of
information communication technology in order to ensure that Carnival-related news is
disseminated to a variety of audiences in a professional and timely way. We therefore recommend
that communications between the Carnival organisers and the media, carnival participants,
residents and the public should be strengthened by:
(a) the appointment of a full-time press and communications officer with professional journalism
experience, good media contacts and an understanding of the Carnival;
(b) the development and implementation of a media and communications strategy that (i)
reflects the Carnival’s year-round local, regional, national and international activities, (ii)
provides media skills training and acts as a resource for the Carnival Arenas; and (iii) takes a
proactive and constructive approach to submitting positive stories about the Carnival’s
history, traditions and cultural significance, whilst at the same time anticipates and responds
to negative press coverage; and
(c) the creation of a dedicated website that is well maintained and serves as a central information
and communication resource for the Notting Hill Carnival in particular and the carnival
industry generally.
7. The Carnival Code has become an effective tool for communicating key public safety messages to
those attending the Notting Hill Carnival. The multi-agency endorsement of the Code has been
critical to its success and LUL and TfL are to be commended for ensuring that the Code has
become a permanent feature in the 500,000 information leaflets that are produced and distributed
throughout London’s transport networks in the run-up to the August bank holiday weekend each
year. We recommend that the Code:
(a) is revised to address environment issues and concerns;
(b) is adopted by all Carnival stakeholders, including the Arenas; and
(d) remains a central feature of the overall communications strategy. More effort should be
made to encourage members of the static and mobile music Arenas and associations to
promote the calypso version of the Code, both before and during the event. DJs who also
have their own radio shows have access to a powerful medium through which to extend the
reach of the Carnival’s core public safety messages.
8. Whilst our interim report found that crowd movement and congestion could be significantly
improved through greater use of directional signage within the Carnival, considerable work
remains to be done in this area. We strongly recommend that the development and
implementation of effective ‘core’ signage be prioritised within the Carnival Communications
Strategy. The creative use of large video screens to show key Carnival moments and to provide
visitors with real time travel information must also be a central feature of the strategy.
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