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Stories from Notting Hill: Episode 3: Carnival Clash

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Episode 3

Episode 3: Carnival Clash

Carnival Clash

BBC Radio 4 - Stories from Notting Hill, Carnival Clash

Kwame Kwei-Armah explores the complex relationship between the carnival and the police.

Writer and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah examines the tensions over policing of the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Notting Hill Carnival is one of the world's biggest carnivals, a showcase for multicultural celebrations. But the event often makes the news for all the wrong reasons. Kwame goes behind the headlines to explore the complex relationship between the Notting Hill Carnival community and the Metropolitan Police. 

From 1973 the Notting Hill Carnival was attracting crowds of a scale rarely seen on the streets of Europe and by 1975 organised gangs of pickpockets were working those crowds. In reaction to such burgeoning criminality, thousands of police officers were placed on duty in the carnival the following year. Large scale policing has characterized the event ever since. There was a major riot in 1976 and there have been occasional clashes since but it's clear that the police are now as much a part of the event as the costume procession. 


Producer: Pam Fraser Solomon
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.

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The complex history of the Notting Hill Carnival, with writer and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah

Writer and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah has been attending the Notting Hill Carnival since the 1970s. He explores the festival's history and meets some of the key people who make the event happen.

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