Kristyna O'ConnellNotting Hill Carnival, set to take place on 25 August 2025, has faced safety concerns in a recent report by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
Susan Hall, leader of the Conservative Group at City Hall, has called for the GLA to take over as the event’s organiser, citing risks to public safety.
“It is one of the biggest events in the country and yet it still goes on in the same way,” she said.
“I’ve seen some of the footage. It’s a prospect of a Hillsborough-type event, with the crushing. People are literally like sardines.”
Hall stressed that the report’s recommendations “were not to criticise the event’s existence, nor to stop it, but to give the event security, stability and structure for the future.”
She has urged that every ticket — whether paid or free — be linked to an individual’s billing address and suggested relocating the event to Hyde Park if it could no longer be safely held in Notting Hill.
BBC reported that these concerns were not limited to Hall. In June, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the risk of a crowd crush “made me frightened”.
In July, City Hall released a further £1m in emergency funding to allow the event to go ahead this August bank holiday weekend. According to the report, the carnival costs around £15.3m to stage, with £13.5m spent on policing alone.
The report also recommended establishing a Notting Hill Carnival Advisory Board, comprising organisers, community leaders, and representatives from public bodies including the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor’s Office for Police and Crime, Transport for London, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster City Council, and the Metropolitan Police Federation.
Khan and Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said safety improvements were already being implemented, with the mayor calling for national funding to secure the long-term success of the nationally significant event.