Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

Part II: Public Safety, Responsibility & Accountability
Summary
As one of the largest urban festivals in the world, attracting vast numbers of visitors onto the streets of
central London, the Notting Hill Carnival poses extraordinary public safety challenges. This section:
• raises questions about who is (or should be) held accountable for ensuring that public safety
planning for the Carnival is objectively co-ordinated;
• examines the roles and responsibilities of the various organisations and statutory agencies
involved in planning and delivering the Carnival;
• assesses the impact of the Carnival Review Group’s interim report and recommendations on
event planning for the Carnival; and
• provides an overview of the Carnival Public Safety Project, its assessment of the routes used in
2001 and 2002, and its conclusions in relation to the public safety risks presented by such
routes.
Recommendations
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.
9. Effective crowd management is an essential feature of any public safety strategy for large-scale
events. The establishment of a suitably qualified and sustainable body of stewards is vital to
ensuring the safety of spectators and participants at the Carnival. Such a body could eventually
compete for the stewarding of large-scale events in London. We believe that the GLA should now
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