Notting Hill Carnival - Europe's

biggest

    When, in 1964, a members of a Trinidadian steel band were invited to take part in a street
festival in Notting Hill, none of them realised that they were going to give birth to Europe’s
greatest street carnival. There had been racial tension in the late 1950’s, and the Black people
who had come over from the West Indies to work in London found it hard to mix with
Londoners. As a way of breaking the ice, the idea of a street festival was suggested; street
festivals being popular events on the Caribbean islands, the original organisers suggested that
the sight and sound of a Trinidadian steel band playing on the streets of Notting Hill would
encourage local residents, both black and white, to come out on the street and enjoy
themselves for an afternoon.
    The first festival was an immediate success; once the black people of Notting Hill heard
the music of the steel band, they came out into the street to dance and enjoy themselves as
they might have done back home in the West Indies; attracted by the unusual and rhythmic
sound of the steel band, others too came along to share in the experience. In short, the first
festival was such a big success that the organisers decided to organise another one the
following year.
    Since then, the Notting Hill Carnival has evolved into a huge multi-cultural arts festival,
attended by up to two million people; besides being the annual high point of London’s Afro-
Caribbean community, it now attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over Britain
and other countries, and has become the world’s second biggest carnival, second only to Rio.
    Over the years, the carnival has grown in variety, reflecting the multi-coloured and
cosmopolitan nature of modern London; recent carnivals have seen the participation of
groups from Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Russia, and many other
countries, as well as musicians and dancers from other parts of Britain. In addition to the
procession of exotic costumes and steel bands, there are now almost fifty static stages with
bands playing different types of West Indian music, but also jazz, soul, and other popular
varieties.
    With so many people in attendance during the two days of the festival - the last Sunday
and Monday in August - moments of tension and the occasional scuffles with the police are
inevitable; yet in spite of the crowds, serious problems are rare. The vast majority of those
who come to this festival come to have a good time, to finish off the Summer holiday period
with a day or two of exoticism and colour; they do not come looking for trouble.
Wordguide:
steel band: percussion band with home made instruments - enjoy themselves: amuse
themselves, have fun - West Indies: Caribbean islands - attended by: visited by - static
stage: fixed platform - in attendance: present - scuffle: struggle, small fight - fancy:
fantastic, fantasy - vie: compete - left overs: surplus and unused material -  snippets: small
pieces cut from a big piece (to snip = to cut) - purpose: reason .  

Exercise: