Carnival ‘will brighten London gloom’

A FOUNDER of Notting Hill Carnival today promised this year’s event would “brighten the gloom” hanging over London in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster and the terror attacks.

Sonny Blacks, who served on the original carnival committee in 1968, described “heart-rending” scenes when he visited the site of the tragedy and admitted many organisers were still too “distressed” to discuss this year’s street party.

The former Ladbroke Grove resident, who moved out of the area two months ago, added: “It will brighten up the whole gloom that is over London, and we need that.

“People are distressed to talk about it in full, and our thoughts are not there yet. But time is going to be running, and we hope everything will go well. We’ve got to be positive.”

Grenfell Tower is less than half a mile from the carnival procession route down Ladbroke Grove.

Mr Blacks, who moved to the UK from Trinidad 55 years ago, said: “It’s still a long way to go.

“If it had happened a week before the carnival, it would have been cancelled of course. But as far as we’re concerned it will go ahead.” Two million people descend on the streets of west London every year for Europe’s biggest street party, held on the August bank holiday weekend.

Mr Blacks, the artistic director of Caribbean Carnival Extravaganza, criticised Kensington and Chelsea council for its response to the disaster.

He said: “They weren’t prepared and they really can’t handle that. It’s something of very tragic proportions ... How could you build a 20-storey building with one staircase going up and down? It’s unthinkable, these supposedly intelligent people should know that is a fire hazard waiting to happen. I hope the people responsible are put to task.”