Carnival crush risk made me frightened, mayor says

The London mayor backed a call for the government to help fund Notting Hill Carnival

The risk of a crowd crush at Notting Hill Carnival "made me frightened", London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said.

Speaking at mayor's question time, he said Carnival had become a "victim of its own success" with it now attracting about two million people across the August bank holiday weekend.

He has backed a call from the event's organisers for urgent funding from the government to help pay for additional public safety measures. The government said it would respond to the request "in due course".

Susan Hall, Conservative group leader at City Hall, said the festival was a "disaster waiting to happen", adding: "I think there comes a time when it isn't down to money. It's down to the situation."

In his letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, which was leaked to the BBC on Wednesday, Carnival chair Ian Comfort said the future of the event could be in doubt without the additional funding to improve crowd management.

Referencing an independent public safety review which had been commissioned by Carnival organisers, Sir Sadiq said a "funding gap" had opened due to the added costs of implementing its recommendations.

He told the London Assembly: "The carnival has been going since 1966, organised by the community, the second biggest street festival in the world.

"[At] City Hall, we've been supporting the carnival in my last nine years as mayor in terms of funding for safety and security. We fund the carnival safety and security, to the tune of about £1,000,000."

The mayor said the current level of funding currently given by City Hall, Kensington and Chelsea Council and Westminster Council was the "maximum we can financially, and so we would need the government to step in".

Carnival attracts about two million revellers over the August bank holiday weekend

He said he shared concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police around the risks of "crushing at certain pinch points".

"I've seen images of some of the crowds at some parts of the day and watching that made me frightened," the mayor said.

He said the UK has expertise in crowd management following the events such as the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy and that any recommendations to reduce such risks at Notting Hill Carnival needed to be implemented.

Ms Hall, a former Tory mayoral candidate, questioned whether the government should "fund an event that two people died at last year".

Cher Maximen was fatally stabbed in front of her three-year-old daughter at the 2024 event and chef Mussie Imnetu was murdered close to the carnival route.

The Met has previously said the measures it takes to manage the crowd limits the ability of police officers to focus on crime prevention.

Masquerader Rachel Alexander said the government should "invest in Carnival's foundation"

Rachel Alexander, who has performed at Notting Hill Carnival since 2008, called for the funding to be granted.

"If the government truly values the cultural and economic impact of Carnival then they should invest in its foundation," she told BBC Newsbeat.

She added that while last year was among her best "on the road in terms of crowd control", it can depend on the band and if they could afford "top notch security".

"Overall, the event needs better infrastructure to crowd control," she said.