‘For 50 years, these festivals have been operating aspect by aspect – and that is the primary time they've coincided.” The phrases of Notting Hill carnival host DJ Nassen had been met with rapturous applause on Thursday afternoon as 1000's gathered to hitch Glastonbury’s first ever Notting Hill carnival procession.
“These are the 2 most necessary cultural occasions in England – it’s lengthy overdue!” he added, summing up the temper of the massive crowds lining the parade route.
Notting Hill carnival is without doubt one of the largest avenue festivals on the earth. The Caribbean music and dance occasion, held yearly in London because it first coalesced in 1966, attracts a mean of greater than two million individuals and is anticipated to see twice that quantity in August when it returns after a three-year hiatus.
It's partnering with Glastonbury for the primary time this yr, as each occasions welcome again punters in individual for the primary time since 2019.
Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis stated in a press release: “I’ve at all times beloved Notting Hill carnival, particularly throughout my years dwelling not far away in west London, and there have been so many connections with Glastonbury over time. It’s a dream to lastly convey a number of the very tremendous crew right here.”
The procession, held on day one in every of Glastonbury, was seen throughout the entire south-east of the positioning, that includes its trademark mixture of flamboyant costumes, vibrant colors, Caribbean dancers, stilt walker moko jumbies – and, for this occasion, a big truck within the form of a beetle.
The parade additionally comprised Mangrove – eight-time winners of the Panorama metal band championship – and an all-electric float bearing a booming sound system.
“Altogether, we’ve obtained 50 contributors right here with us at present, together with the metal band, dancers, DJ and crew,” stated head of logistics Niall Inexperienced.
In line with the Glastonbury spirit, Inexperienced defined the trouble the workforce are placing into making local weather consciousness an integral a part of the occasion. “We need to make carnival as inexperienced as doable,” he stated.
“Meals merchants and sound techniques at most festivals use diesel turbines, and we’re attempting to maneuver away from that. This procession is completely emission-free. In the end, we’d wish to be completely sustainable, proper all the way down to getting everybody utilizing reusable cups.”
Inclusivity is equally as important to the workforce as eco-credentials. “It’s necessary for Glasto to work on its range and we’re actually blissful to be part of that,” Inexperienced concluded, because the procession meandered down the trail from Block9, the sprawling late-night get together zone, to West Holts and again once more, for a dance get together that lasted until sunset.
Reveller Matt Gibbs, dancing beside the float, stated he felt the crowds at every occasion had usually differed from each other. “Glasto and carnival are two totally different worlds and the contributors belong to 2 totally different cultures,” he stated, earlier than including: “By bringing them collectively, they every add a lot to the opposite.”
Associates Keisha Ffrench and Karenza Slicing had stumbled throughout the carnival unintentionally. “I had no concept this is able to be right here! We’re going to the principle occasion in August and that is an incredible curtain-raiser,” Ffrench stated.
“Black communities are underrepresented at Glastonbury and occasions like it will assist deal with that,” she famous, referencing Lenny Henry’s feedback final week relating to the pageant’s lack of range.
The collaboration has proved extraordinarily widespread with punters. Maraid McEwan, having fun with the festivities from the West Holts staging space, stated this had been her “favorite a part of Glastonbury to this point by an enormous margin” and mirrored that the sense of group and inclusivity is “what Glastonbury is all about”.
Linda Warhouse, from Nottingham, agreed. “This has been a significant spotlight – it’s superb to see individuals from all backgrounds and ethnicities dancing collectively.”
In the meantime dancer Giselle Carter, from Gemz Mas Worldwide, stated she was “so, so blissful to be again” after the coronavirus pandemic compelled the cancellation of in-person occasions. “This collaboration makes a lot sense – Glastonbury and carnival share the identical values.”
Matthew Phillip, chief govt of Notting Hill carnival, stated he was “past delighted” by the reception he and his workforce had been met with.
In an earlier assertion, he stated: “The heritage and historical past of Notting Hill carnival is massively necessary to the British cultural panorama in most of the identical methods as Glastonbury, they maintain most of the identical beliefs and signify the nation on a worldwide scale.”
Put one other means, as DJ Nassen noticed in the direction of the tip of the parade: “Whether or not you’re from Ladbroke Grove or Somerset, music unites us all.”
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