Overview

• Carnival organisers secured emergency grants from City Hall, Kensington & Chelsea Council and Westminster City Council to fund enhanced safety infrastructure
• A new collaboration with Idris Elba’s Elba Hope Foundation and its Don’t Stop Your Future campaign will deliver youth-focused violence prevention programmes
• Updated security plans include increased stewarding, expanded CCTV coverage, faster response teams and strengthened crowd management for the August 23–25 event
• Chief executive Matthew Phillip said the carnival is not the cause of rising knife crime but can use its platform to address underlying issues
• The festival will feature parades, steelpan bands and 72-second silences to honour Grenfell Tower victims and Kelso Cochrane during the bank holiday weekend