LONDON, ENGLAND (BDCi) –This year’s carnival might be cancelled in Notting Hill, an affluent section of London, and its surrounding areas as its residents already asked the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to call it off because they are scared of more rioting. The carnival is supposed to happen next weekend, but the locals fear it will attract gangs to gather in the area “for a repeat of the rioting and criminal behavior seen last week,” said the writer for the London Evening Standard Journal, Tony Bonnici. A series of meetings have been scheduled to discuss security arrangements between police and carnival organizers, however, the Met’s acting Commissioner, Tim Godwin, wants the event to go on. According to the Journal, numerous inquiries about the potential cancelling have been received by a spokesman for London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd. since people are fearful of more riots. If Carnival proceeds, the carnival will end early this year, with the floats done at 6:30p.m. and the static sound system shut down by 7 p.m.
Sheila Robertson, a resident, said: “A lot of people want to see it done away with altogether. But personally I don’t think it should be because it might make matters worse.”
By: Ana Paula Silvani Source: London Evening Standard Journal Photo: Ana Paula Silvani August 17, 2011
2:00 p.m. PDT