MD3414 Notting Hill Carnival 2025 – additional funding

1.1.    This Mayoral Decision (MD) seeks the Mayor’s approval for additional funding of £594,000 towards the delivery of Notting Hill Carnival (Carnival) in 2025. This will provide further support towards stewarding (£180,000) and crowd-management operations (£414,000) at the event. This will be in addition to the £946,300 funding agreed under cover of MD3347.

1.2.    The GLA has powers and duties under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLA Act) to promote: wealth creation, economic and social development, and improvement of the environment in Greater London; and tourism to, in and through Greater London. Events have a profound potential to bring economic and social benefits to the city. Major events can raise the city’s profile and present a positive image to the world’s media and potential visitors.

1.3.    Carnival is one of London’s highest-profile public events, attracting approximately one million visitors over the August bank holiday weekend from across the capital, the UK and the world. Importantly, it is a community-led event, with a huge sense of ownership from local communities. 

1.4.    The artistic vision of Carnival is to foster the creative development and enhancement of diverse artistic excellence; and to transform perceptions of Carnival culture locally, nationally and internationally. The event celebrates the history of Carnival, and reflects diverse artistic elements, cultural identity, heritage and community cohesion. Alongside the delivery of the Carnival weekend, there is an associated programme of community-led work that runs throughout the year, including Carnival Arts education projects.

 
1.5.    Carnival’s combined programmes and events support the GLA’s duty to promote tourism and is relevant to the GLA’s powers regarding economic and social development in London. In its strategic role for London, the GLA supports Carnival as a major event of significant benefit to the city. Providing funding to the organiser, Notting Hill Carnival Limited (NHCL), supports its costs towards stewarding and enabling safer delivery of the event.

1.6.    Though it is not responsible for Carnival, the GLA considers it important to take, to the fullest extent possible, reasonable steps to help NHCL mitigate public safety risks at this internationally renowned, community-led, major event.

1.7.    The scale and complexity of delivering this event requires collaboration with, and significant support from, multiple statutory agencies. In addition to significant operational requirements, the levels of support needed to deliver a safe and successful event have been further amplified by changes in audience behaviour at major events, and the need to consider the wider security threats to major high-profile events.

1.8.    NHCL is supported in the operational planning and delivery of the event by key statutory agencies, which together form the Licensing, Operational and Safety Planning Group (LOSPG). This includes representatives from the three boroughs; the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS); London Fire Brigade (LFB); Transport for London (TfL); British Transport Police (BTP); London Ambulance Service (LAS); and the NHS and its partner, St John Ambulance.

1.9.    The Notting Hill Gold Strategic Group (GSG) oversees the strategic operational planning and delivery of the event, which is attended by senior members of the GLA, Westminster City Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, TfL, the MPS, LAS, LFB and other key stakeholders and partners.

1.10.    The Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Partners Group (SPG) is a forum for the key funders and contributors of Carnival to provide strategic oversight, support and guidance to the Event Organisers, NHCL, in the development and acceleration towards sustainable future growth and long-term development of Carnival. This is attended by senior members of the GLA, WCC, RBKC, the MPS and NHCL.

Crowd-management, safety and stewarding

1.11.    As outlined in MD3347, NHCL commissioned an independent crowd dynamics review to address crowd management, safety enhancements and coordination among partners. The work has been divided into two phases: immediate improvements for the 2025 event; and strategic objectives for sustained improvements starting in 2026.

1.12.    Following the completion of phase one, key recommendations in the following areas emerged:

•    maximise existing resource efficiency
•    organisational restructure of NHCL
•    universal wayfinding
•    digital comms uplift 
•    information sharing
•    decision models
•    suitable and sufficient risk assessments
•    clearly outlined crowd safety responsibilities
•    peer review and audit
•    agreed models for decision-making and implementation.

1.13.    Additionally, it was recognised that stewarding provision for Carnival in 2025 should be maintained. However, to retain the level of stewarding as in 2024, a further £180,000 of funding is required. This is due to increased costs from London Living Wage increases and the change to employer’s National Insurance contributions, which are passed on to NHCL as the client.

1.14.    In response to the review, NHCL approached the SPG for funding to support implementation of the recommendations. These had been costed at an anticipated budget of £2.2m. 

1.15.    The GLA approached central government for this financial support; this request was rejected.

 
1.16.    Due to the reduced timescales for delivery arising from government consideration of the funding request, NHCL submitted a revised implementation plan based on priority areas and associated funding request to the SPG of £958,000. Following discussions within the SPG, NHCL requested that the GLA contributes a further £594,000 in 2025-26 (£180,000 towards the increased stewarding costs, and £414,000 towards implementing recommendations associated with the crowd-management operation).

1.17.    Other strategic partners have also committed funding: RBKC (£232,000), WCC (£132,000) and the MPS (which has committed police assets to continue in some key roles).  

1.18.    This additional funding will ensure that extra safety and infrastructure measures are in place so that Carnival can take place this year.
 

2.1.    Providing additional funding to support the stewarding-provision costs and the crowd-management operations will support the delivery of Carnival this year, ensuring a safer event and minimising the impact on agency services. The GLA, through its membership of the LOSPG, will monitor the outcomes against the stewarding plan and an agreed set of deliverables.

2.2.    Without adequate stewarding provision, or effective crowd management operations at Carnival, the ability to realise the wider benefits of the event will be impacted. The funding for this event supports the following London-level outcomes:

•    London as a world-leading global city – through an enhanced positive profile for London, encouraging economic investment and tourism

•    London as an attractive and high-quality destination for visitors – through the delivery of an internationally renowned event that attracts local, national and international audiences

•    Londoners feeling able to take part in the city’s cultural life – both in attending the event, and being part of its delivery, creatively and operationally; it provides skills through training, volunteering and employment opportunities, and encourages Londoners’ sense of pride in their city, and sense of community and social cohesion

•    Londoners feeling safe – through the support given to provide adequate event stewarding

•    Londoners living in a city that supports their mental and physical health – through the enjoyment and satisfaction gained from attending events, Londoners’ wellbeing, health and quality of life are improved. This is particularly applicable to Londoners with limited disposable income, as free events offer access to the arts and entertainment, which they may otherwise not be able to experience.

2.3.    This activity, and the impact of the GLA funding proposed, will be measured through feedback from the multi-agency LOSPG, the GSG and the SPG throughout the planning process for Carnival.
 

3.1.    Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the Mayor and the GLA are subject to the public sector equality duty and must have due regard to the need to:

•    eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation
•    advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not
•    foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. 

3.2.    The “protected characteristics” are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage/civil partnership status. The duty involves having appropriate regard to these matters as they apply in the circumstances, including having regard to the need to: remove or minimise any disadvantage suffered by those who share or are connected to a protected characteristic; take steps to meet the diverse needs of such people; and encourage them to participate in public life or in any other activity where their participation is disproportionately low. This can involve treating people with a protected characteristic more favourably than those without one. 

3.3.    Carnival is one of London’s largest cultural events, delivered primarily by London’s Black Caribbean and Black African communities. Community stakeholder groups are engaged in the planning and promotion of the event, ensuring that it is appropriate and representative of the carnival community that it promotes. As this is a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community and volunteer-delivered event with an international profile, there are limited resources to provide the infrastructure that an event of this scale requires. By providing this funding, the GLA is supporting its safe and successful delivery for the community, for Londoners and for the many national and international visitors who attend. 

3.4.    Carnival is also a major international event that is inclusive and aimed at bringing people from different communities together to help foster good inter-community relations. This is achieved through the programme content, and the widespread media coverage and profile it receives. The preparation for Carnival involves many local outreach programmes in music and arts education, managed by the organisers NHCL. They also manage a board of Carnival representatives that consists of community stakeholders across all Carnival disciplines.
 

Key risks and issues

4.1.    Though it is not responsible for Carnival, the GLA considers it important to take, to the fullest extent possible, reasonable steps to assist NHCL to mitigate public safety risks.

4.2.    In its strategic role for London, the GLA supports Carnival, as a major event of significant benefit to the city, by providing funding to the organiser, NHCL, to support the stewarding programme and crowd management operations to enhance public safety at the event.

4.3.    The table below shows the key risks, and corresponding mitigations/responses: 

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.4.    Approving funding for Carnival links to the following Mayoral priorities: 

•    making sure Londoners from all walks of life can enjoy arts and culture
•    encouraging London's diverse communities to come together
•    fighting for London’s economy
•    ensuring the safety of Londoners.

4.5.    This work also links to the following Mayoral strategies:

·    All of Us – Strategy for Social Integration: using sport, volunteering, arts and culture as powerful tools for social integration; and establishing London’s reputation as a welcoming city for newcomers from other parts of the UK and abroad, with opportunities to feel a strong connection and positive sense of belonging to the city in which they are living.

·    Culture strategy: the Mayor will continue to fund festivals and events with an emphasis on more community involvement, increasing quality, raising London’s profile, and increasing volunteering.

·    Inclusive London, the Mayor’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy: celebrating London’s rich diversity; and bringing communities together through a series of high-profile, accessible and inclusive events and campaigns.

Consultation and impact assessment 

4.6.    The SPG provides strategic support for the event from RBKC, WCC, the MPS, TfL, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and the GLA – working alongside the event organiser. 

4.7.    The event organiser engages with the wider community and stakeholders to ensure that the community is represented from all generations. Public correspondence (via the GLA Public Liaison Unit, WCC and RBKC) is also considered for future planning of the event, where comments and suggestions are made and may be reasonably implemented. 

4.8.    Assessment of the event’s impact will be carried out through the multi-agency planning process via LOSPG and other subgroups, whose members include WCC, RBKC, the MPS, TfL, LAS, LFB, NHCL (or another organiser), and other key stakeholders. This is to ensure that the event is delivered safely, and adheres to the regulations regarding licensing, noise, crowd management and infrastructure.

Conflicts of interest

4.9.    There are no known conflicts of interest in relation to this MD form and those involved in the delivery of the programme.

5.1.    This MD form seeks to approve an additional funding package, to the community organiser of Carnival, of up to £594,000 in 2025-26 to support the stewarding and crowd management operations for Carnival in 2025. 

5.2.    The costs of £594,000 will be funded from the Major Events Reserves in 2025-26, however, the Major Events reserves will not be able to meet ongoing budgetary pressures from crowd management and other enhanced safety measures across the different events’ programme. Therefore, a sustainable funding model needs to be put in place. For the GLA to be satisfied with NHCL’s capacity and financial status to successfully administer the proposed grant award (or that of any future organiser), funding will be subject to: satisfactory due diligence; annual checks; and mitigations included in the funding agreement to protect the GLA’s financial investment in the programme.

 
5.3.    The Events for London team, within the Strategy and Communications directorate, will manage this programme which is part of the Celebrating London delivery plan.
 

Power to undertake the requested decisions

6.1.    The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor concern the exercise of the GLA’s general powers; and fall within the GLA’s statutory power to do such things considered to further, or that are facilitative of, or conducive or incidental to, the promotion of social development and economic development and wealth creation within Greater London. In formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought, officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:

•    pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people

•    consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the UK

•    consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2.    In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty – namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; and advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations, between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation) and persons who do not (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report. 

6.3.    If the Mayor makes the decisions sought, officers must ensure that:

•    the award of grant funding is made fairly, transparently, in manner that affords value for money and in accordance with the requirements of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and a grant funding agreement is put in place between, and executed by, the GLA and the proposed recipient before any commitment to fund is made

•    any services required are procured in accordance with the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code; and contracts are put in place between, and executed, by the GLA and contractors before commencement of such services.

6.4.    Officers must ensure, that they comply fully with all Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements in respect of the expenditure proposed.
 

7.1.    The project delivery timeline is outlined below: