Notting Hill Carnival credit Bernd Dittrich

Notting Hill Carnival needs “fundamental reform”, says new On the Brink report

13th August 2025
|In Editor's Choice, News
|By Caroline Clift
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City Hall Conservatives leader Susan Hall AM has released a comprehensive report on the future of Notting Hill Carnival. On the Brink Notting Hill Carnival presents data, which it says reveals dramatic increases in crime at the event and the escalating cost to the taxpayer. 

AM Hall puts forward a series of recommendations to give the event “the safety and security it needs to run effectively”, and the ability to raise revenue, reducing the cost impact on the Met and the taxpayer.

On The Brink states that the funding of carnival is no longer sustainable in its current form. 

The report also states that the current event organiser does not have the governance structure or the resources required to organise an event on the scale of carnival, and that the occurrence of a major public safety disaster, such as a Hillsborough-style crush, has only been avoided by chance – not by effective organisation. 

The On The Brink report recommendations include: 

  • The Greater London Authority (GLA) adopting responsibility for the running of Notting Hill Carnival and being recognised as the official organiser.
  • The creation of a new Notting Hill Carnival Advisory Board, which would include the current organisers, hold public meetings at City Hall and be scrutinised by the London Assembly.
  • The implementation of a new, permanent funding solution. This could involve ticketing or securing sponsorship and brand partnerships for the event, generating a minimum of £20 million to cover the cost of policing and running the event.
  • To help safely manage crowd numbers and avoid a mass crush event, the GLA should set a maximum capacity for carnival and require pre-registration.
  • If the GLA cannot run the event safely in its current location, and in a way that is financially viable, it should be moved to an alternative site such as Hyde Park, or make use of additional sites or venues to help manage crowds.
  • The introduction of a new Officer Welfare Plan for those police officers working at the event. 
Hall AM said: “Notting Hill Carnival is a hugely important event and deserves to succeed – my report is designed to raise awareness of the serious safety issues the event faces in its current form, and put forward recommendations to give the event the security and stability it needs. As my report shows, crime has increased substantially at the event since 2000, alongside a huge increase in the cost to the taxpayer. We must find another way – no other event would be allowed to continue like this.
“At a time when Londoners are facing cuts to essential and frontline policing services because of Sadiq Khan and this Labour government, the Met simply cannot afford to spend over £80 million policing Carnival over the next five years. A new permanent funding solution for carnival would give the event the certainty it needs to run as successfully as possible.”
Notting Hill Carnival recently published details of a list of new measures for the 2025 event, including:
  • Big digital screens displaying important updates, safety tips, and announcements.
  • Stewards guiding visitors along different paths to keep the crowds moving safely.
  • Extra support crews will be dotted across the route to give directions, answer questions, and help keep the celebrations safe, smooth, and stress-free.
Image: Notting Hill Carnival/Bernd Dittrich
City Hall event news Notting Hill Carnival On the Brink