Following several stabbings that occurred during the festival’s last day, the Notting Hill funfair organisers have stated that they “deplore all acts of violence.”
According to Notting Hill Carnival Ltd., those responsible for the attacks “have nothing to do with Notting Hill carnival or its values.”
After occurrences at the west London street party, which drew an estimated 2 million people over the bank holiday weekend, two men are in the hospital, one of them is in a critical condition.
The annual celebration of Caribbean history and culture, which this year also commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Windrush immigration, attracted a large crowd, and thousands of people participated in the joyous adult march that wrapped out the event on Monday.
The organisers said: “Notting Hill carnival has once again been a spectacular weekend of colour and sound, the culmination of a year’s long work, that results in this hugely important and unique cultural event.
“Carnival is about these communities and people, who dedicate so much time, love, incredible creativity and effort to the parade, sound systems, music, food, costumes and much more that makes up the event.
“We deplore all acts of violence, these people have nothing to do with Notting Hill carnival and its values.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, 12,786 knife offences were committed in the capital during the course of a year ending in March. They continued by saying that such stabbings were “tragically… all too common in our society.”
After stabbings on Monday, a 29-year-old guy is in a critical state, and a 19-year-old male is in a serious but stable condition.
Six further guys, ages 18, 19, 20, 25, 28 and 40, were reportedly stabbed in separate incidents on the same day but only suffered non-life-threatening wounds.
Over the course of the two days of the funfair, which is Europe’s largest street party, 275 people were detained, including 165 on Monday. These people were detained for a variety of offences, including sexual offences, drug use, assaults on police officers, and possession of dangerous weapons.
The announcement by the event’s organisers follows comments made by the Conservative party’s nominee for mayor of London that the event should be relocated and possibly conducted in a park.
Police “don’t want to be there,” according to the party’s mayoral candidate for London in 2024, Susan Hall.
Hall has previously argued she shouldn’t be accused of racism for saying there were “problems with crime in the black community” and has received criticism for saying that the Notting Hill funfair was “dangerous” and should be moved.
After the festival, the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents officers, tweeted: “Once again Notting Hill carnival marred by serious violence – and attacks on police officers. 75 of our colleagues assaulted. Six bitten. One s3xually assaulted. One in hospital. This is absolutely disgusting. No wonder our members dread policing this event.”
A spokesperson for the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Notting Hill carnival is one of the world’s biggest street festivals and is part of the very fabric of our city. It was born out of the Caribbean community in north Kensington and Notting Hill, and the mayor believes that it’s only right that this remains its home.”
