Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

Great Western Road, a ‘marshalling area’ was created for use by the bands as rest areas, and the
northern part of Ladbroke Grove, the Harrow Road and the Great Western Road was used as a
‘relief route’ with a view to reducing crowd congestion on the main performance route. The
change reduced the length of the procession section of the Carnival route to 3.6km. A further
change was introduced in 2003 with the creation of a ‘judging zone’ to promote continuous
movement rather than the use of a stage which required bands to stop in front of a judges’ table
and perform.
Figure (3): The Carnival route in 2002 and 2003
Table (1): Route Length Comparison for 2001 and 2002
1.43 The number of people attending the Carnival has declined since 2000 although this has not led
to a corresponding decrease in the number of police officers deployed over the August Bank
Holiday weekend. There has also been a movement away from the use of the parks and open
spaces within the Carnival area for large-scale live concerts. In 2001, for the first time in a
number of years, there were no live music stages at Carnival and this trend continued in 2002. In
2003, there was a relatively small-scale ‘world music’ live stage, but the majority of the parks and
open spaces were used as rest areas.
Carnival Management and Leadership
1.44 The management and operation of the Notting Hill Carnival has always involved a number of
organisations and statutory agencies. In 2000, the responsibility for the year-round preparation,
co-ordination and planning of the Carnival’s artistic and cultural activities was borne by the
Notting Hill Carnival Trust (NHCT), a registered charity. However, issues of public safety, public
order, public health and hygiene and noise pollution also mean that a number of statutory
agencies play a significant planning and organising role. In order to clarify the various
responsibilities and functions of all the parties involved, a Statement of Intent and Code of
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