We were delighted to be back sponsoring Sunshine International Art at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival. Our presence has been a proud tradition of community engagement over several years.
The Notting Hill Carnival is Europe’s largest street festival which takes place annually in London the last weekend in August. The Carnival celebrates London’s multicultural past and present and is attended by people from all over the country. The first Carnival events were arranged as a demonstration of racial unity after the Notting Hill Race Riots of 1958.
In 2020, Covid-19 restrictions meant the Carnival moved online with three channels of music, virtual stages, and recorded performances.
Despite the two-year gap of street dancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we were pleased to see a massive gathering of people and colourful costumes
This year was very different from other years as we remembered those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Fire five years ago. We continue to support this campaign for justice and accountability.
The Mass Cycle represents a mixture of costumes from Sunshine International art director Ray Mahabir, revisiting some of the first Notting Hill costumes and some new creations for 2022. This band represents the true meaning of carnival with the vibrant mass colours. There were 75 members of the arts band and 55 costumes made for the carnival, many of our UNISON members in T-shirts designed for the day, the UNISON banner proudly displayed on the side of the truck, people approaching our members, asking about the work of the union, and complementing the vibrant costumes especially made which made UNISON stand out from the very crowded streets.
In a typical year, between one and two million people attend over two days to sample the food, watch the performances and experience the vibrant atmosphere. There is prominent national news coverage as well as coverage in specialist and local press.
The history of Notting Hill Carnival which is linked to the struggle for race equality and the celebration of multiculturalism in the UK are closely related to UNISON’s own concern for anti-racist activity in the workplace, allyship and strength in the face of adversity and in our society.
Whether we are recruiting new Black members who can become active in self-organisation, new young members as potential equality allies, or networking with organisations and groups who can participate in and share our campaigns, the Notting Hill Carnival is a good place for UNISON to be seen in.
Our continued presence is seen by many communities as a testament of the union’s support of Black people and equality in a period of such unrest.
