The future management of Notting Hill Carnival is uncertain following an announcement by Arts Council England (ACE) that funding to the umbrella organisation that co-ordinates and promotes the event and associated activities is to end this year.
ACE has revealed that the major funding partners for the Carnival have been in discussion for some time on the delivery of Carnival events in London, and that they have ?made concerted efforts to strengthen the managerial, organisational and legal capacities of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust?? The decision not to renew funding to the current organisation has been made on the grounds that ?the Trust has failed to meet the conditions of funding applied by the various funding organisations.? The decision will not affect this year?s Carnival, the 39th, which will go ahead as planned, though £60,000 of the £140,000 grant that had been allocated to the Trust for the running of the event has been withheld, and the money redistributed to others involved in the carnival. ACE has confirmed that it will not be funding the Notting Hill Carnival Trust again, but is hopeful that a new organisation will be found to perform the co-ordinating role for the event. Any future funding is likely to be partly determined by the outcome of a consultation exercise currently being undertaken by ACE with a view to identifying the most effective structure for a new agency dedicated to the development of carnival arts.