2020 Notting Hill Carnival has been canceled for the first time since its inception in 1966 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Carnival is an event that takes place on the streets of the Notting Hill area of Kensington, London every August bank holiday (a public holiday in the U.K) for two days.
The carnival’s board made this known in a statement released via its official Twitter page on Thursday.
It stated that though the carnival will not take place, they are working on holding a celebration on the same weekend in an alternative form.
The board stated that;
Notting Hill Carnival was founded to bring people to together during trying times, and we intend to continue that legacy. We are working towards an alternative 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.
It added;
This has not been an easy decision to make, but the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic and the way in which it has unfolded mean this is the only safe option. Everyone’s health has to come first.
We also have no wish to place extra strain on our colleagues St John Ambulance and the NHS. We, of course, work very closely with them for carnival and want to take this opportunity to express our utmost respect, admiration and gratitude for their work. We look forward to welcoming you back to the streets of Notting Hill in 2021.
Read the full statement below;
Last year, more than one million people attended the August festival, which was due to take place on 30 and 31 August 2020.
The Notting Hill Carnival is the latest in a string of events to have been postponed or cancelled as a result of Covid-19. Others cancelled include the Glastonbury festival and the Tokyo Olympics which have now been postponed till 2021.
