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This year’s Notting Hill Carnival has been cancelled for the first time in 50 years over continued fears about the outbreak of coronavirus.
The annual event in west London had been due to take place from August 30-31 this year.
The organisers of Notting Hill Carnival confirmed today (May 7) that it would not be staging its 2020 edition due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis. It marks the first time in the Carnival’s history, which spans over 50 years, that it has been cancelled.
Acknowledging the “many challenges” that they have faced in trying to plan this year’s Carnival in the face of the pandemic, organisers said “the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way in which it has unfolded means that this is the only safe option. Everyone’s health has to come first.”
The annual steel band competition Panorama will also not take place.
“Notting Hill Carnival was founded to bring people together during trying times, and we intend to continue that legacy,” organisers added. “We are working towards an alternate NHC 2020 that we hope will bring the Carnival spirit to people from the safety of their homes, and make them feel connected and engaged.”
More information on that alternate event will be shared soon, while organisers said that they will “be working closely with our partners, the Carnival community and others to deliver a celebration of Carnival culture and arts for the whole nation over the August bank holiday weekend”.
Notting Hill Carnival is set to return in 2021.
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