The effervescent Carnival: Performance, context, and mediation at Notting-Hill

The Notting Hill Carnival is now Europe's largest street festival, celebrat ing the music and popular arts of a variety of cultures. Not so long ago, t he event-which sometimes culminated in violence between the police and carn ival goers-was widely perceived as both threatening and marginal. But more recently the size, success, and high media profile of the carnival have giv en it a 'responsible' image-and won sponsorship from a variety of commercia l concerns. In this article, Gavin Carver explores these developments in th e mediation and context of the carnival, transforming a socio/cultural even t into mere decorative spectacle.