Six decades after the first Caribbean carnival took to the streets of Notting Hill, the event faces a crisis of identity. Former carnival Chief Executive Claire Holder spoke directly to BBC Radio 1Xtra about what has been lost, issuing a clear challenge to the next generation.
Her assessment is blunt: the community has lost control of the festival.
The clearest casualty is the craft itself. Carnival once featured over one hundred costume bands filling the streets with handmade designs, calypso, and masquerade traditions. Today, that artistic focus has dwindled. Commercial scale and outside management have pushed grassroots artists to the sidelines.
The event began as a stand for self-determination. Caribbean expats built Carnival to claim public space and express their culture on their own terms. It was an act of defiance rooted in ancestral heritage.
Holder wants younger generations to take back the reins. Keeping this history alive requires direct participation. It demands stepping up to manage operations, fund costume makers, and protect the original purpose from dilution. Carnival belongs to the people who built it, and its future depends on community control.