Wining on stage with soca star Triniboi Joocie and half a dozen feathered masqueraders, Red Stripe in hand, gold chain swinging, is not the conduct we usually associate with sober-suited mayors. But The Tabernacle arts centre is not the mayor’s parlour, the press launch of Notting Hill Carnival is hardly a run-of-the-mill event and the mayor, Will Lane, is the youngest to have occupied the ceremonial position in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. We look forward to seeing him in action on the road…
Mayor Lane’s performance was the high spot of an otherwise unexceptional evening on Thursday 11 July. The event started late and followed a timeworn pattern: DJ Martin Jay, resplendent in an eye-catching shirt, welcoming us; NHCL CEO Matthew Phillip reading a speech; masqueraders dancing; a youthful contingent from Ebony Steel Band playing pan; Triniboi doing his best to get the crowd going with a couple of numbers; and Grace Foods, Red Bull and the Tab’s kitchens keeping the modest crowd supplied with food and drink.
It was all very friendly and pleasant, but the evening lacked the energy and creativity you’d expect from so many naturally energetic and creative carnival people. We’re in strange territory when the most startling performance at a carnival celebration comes from the Mayor!
The event has always been a slightly uneasy combination of a media briefing and a lime for the Notting Hill faithful. It lacks the slickness that mainstream media expect from a PR briefing, while the true carnivalists probably long for more music and less talking. It’s an opportunity missed, too, because those carnivalists all have great stories to tell and passions to share – each could provide more than enough copy to satisfy a hungry newshound. Nevertheless, the launch has fired the starting gun – or, more accurately, the six-week warning siren – for everyone involved in Notting Hill Carnival.
