By Farouq Suleiman and Natalie Thomas
LONDON (Reuters) – Located on a railway arch in Brixton, south London, a large studio hosts an array of colorful costumes and magnificent feathers, all designed to bring to life a Mas Band parade at the Notting Hill Carnival. London.
Billed as Europe’s biggest street party, the carnival returns over the August bank holiday weekend in Britain, after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the challenges faced by the organizers and participants are not nationwide blockades, but the increase in prices amid inflationary pressures hitting the country.
Ray Mahabir, 58, artistic director at Sunshine International Arts (SiA), which runs the Mas Band studio, said the return of Carnival was “bittersweet” given the economic situation.
“Not knowing what we’re going to meet is one of the main concerns for us,” he said. “Now, everyone doesn’t have money or doesn’t want to spend money because they’re not sure what they’re going to meet.”
Notting Hill Carnival CEO Matthew Phillips told Reuters that some groups would not be able to take part this year.
“Everybody’s going through this cost of living crisis at the moment, which ultimately means that not as many people are able to afford costumes, which has a knock-on effect… a lot of costume designers aren’t making it this to take advantage,” said Phillips.
Mahabir said this year the prices of everything had doubled, with a full suit costing almost 1,000 pounds ($1,185).
These costs are also noticed by other members of the studio. Costume manager Natalie Russell, 35, said the price of feathers, which are often used in many of the costumes the studio designs, had tripled.
“Over a pound for a single peacock feather. Which is crazy considering how much and how much we use,” Russell said.
CARNIVAL RESILIENCE
Mas Bands provide the costumes for Notting Hill Carnival, where members of the public can buy a costume and join a band on the parade route.
The name is derived from the word “masquerade” and has its roots in the emancipation of enslaved people in the Caribbean during the nineteenth century.
Before emancipation, they mocked and imitated the elaborate dresses worn by their masters at celebration balls, incorporating elements of their African traditions, including costumes made from natural materials.
These traditions have continued, evolving into the modern Caribbean carnival as a fusion of African and European culture.
Notting Hill Carnival attracts more than a million visitors and is seen as a symbol of London’s diversity and rich multicultural history.
Notting Hill Carnival artist and board director Linett Kamala, 52, said the effects of COVID and funding challenges faced by organizers had been an “incredibly difficult challenge” this year but, after patient preparations, there had been many emotions for the return of the carnival.
“It couldn’t come soon enough,” Kamala said.
The carnival began as an indoor event in 1959 in response to the poor state of race relations in Britain and as a celebration for the Afro-Caribbean community, growing over the years into the colorful outdoor celebration it is today.
“Carnival and carnival arts are resilient, it will always find a way,” said carnival boss Phillips. “It was how it was born in the first place.”
($1 = 0.8452 pounds)
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman and Natalie Thomas; Editing by Alistair Smout and)
