An Analysis of the UK Event Industry: Notting Hill Carnival

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the UK event industry, with a specific focus on the Notting Hill Carnival. The introduction highlights the significance of events in the UK, particularly cultural and sports events, and introduces the Notting Hill Carnival as a major cultural landmark. The essay then details the creation of an infographic using Canva software, utilizing academic articles, books, and media sources to gather information. Key sources, including articles by Ferdinand and Williams (2013), Omitola (2017), Getz and Page (2016), Ferris (2013), Werbner and Fumanti (2013), and Taylor and Kneafsey (2016), are analyzed to understand the festival's characteristics, tourism aspects, policy implications, cultural trends, and potential for future development. The essay evaluates each source's strengths and limitations, discussing the economic, cultural, and social aspects of the Notting Hill Carnival, and identifies potential avenues for improvement and expansion of the event.

Running head: EVENT INDUSTRY
Event industry
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
There are number of events being evident in the recent time especially in the United
Kingdom. These events are from cultural sector, sports sector and business sector. Although all
of these events are popular in own way but sports and festivals are the major crowd gathering
events. One of these events is the Notting Hill carnival (Johnson 2014). This event is one of the
major and largest cultural events in the United Kingdom started in 1966. It takes place in Notting
Hill of London in August. It is reported that more than million people are being attracted to the
event each year and this makes it one of the largest street carnival in the world. In addition,
Notting Hill carnival is also considered as one of the major landmark icons of the United
Kingdom (Johansson 2017). A huge business opportunity is associated with this festival and thus
it is important to have the fair understanding about the trend of the entire event industry in the
United Kingdom and identification of different avenues for further improvement of this sector.
This essay will discuss about the resources being used in creating the info graphic of the
Notting Hill festival by analyzing the major information being gained from them. In addition, the
major trends in this sector and future potentialities will also be discussed in this paper.
Creation of the info graphic
The info graphic of the Notrting Hill festival is being done using the Canva software.
With the help of this software, visual elements are being properly designed and put along with
the information. The information is being briefed from different academic articles, books and
media sources. Using of different sources helped in having the clear picture of the event along
with the identification of different current and future trends. It is identified about how the whole
concept and approach of Notting Hill Festival is being adhered with that of the concept of events.

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The following sections will analyze and evaluate the external sources being used in creating the
info graphic.
Ferdinand, N. and Williams, N.L., 2013. International festivals as experience production
systems. Tourism Management, 34, pp.202-210.
Prior to the discussion about the concepts of Notting Hill festival, it is important to have
the proper idea about the concept of cultural events or festivals. According to Ferdinand and
Williams (2013), festivals and events can be considered as experience mechanism or system.
This is due to the reason that festivals are mean to offer and provide experience to the involved
stakeholders in different ways. In addition, the authors have also stated that events should be
well coordinated and in sequential pattern. This is due to the reason that success of the events is
depended on the extent to which they are properly coordinated. The major reason behind using
this source is to compare the elements of Notting Hill festival with the characteristics of festivals
being stated here by the authors. However, on the other hand, it is also being identified that this
article is having a few limitations. One of the major limitations identified is one sided approach
towards the definition of events. This is due to the fact that the authors have discussed about the
different elements of events but not the implications of these elements in their effectiveness. In
addition, it is also identified that this article is being discussed only from the perspective of the
tourism. However, in the current trend of events and festivals, different other aspects are also
evident, which should also be considered in determining and evaluating the current trend of
events.

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Omitola, A., 2017. Tourism and sustainable development in Nigeria: attractions and
limitations of carnivals and festivals. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 19(2),
pp.122-132.
It is also important to have the understanding about the different other elements being
associated with the concept of events and festivals. This is due to the reason that in the last
section it is already discussed that current scenario of events is having the association of different
other elements. According to Omitola (2017), one of the major elements to be considered is
tourism. This is due to the fact that in the current time, majority of the countries are positioning
their major events and festivals as one of tourist attraction tools. In the case of Notting Hill
Festival, it is reported that the United Kingdom attracts a huge inflow of foreign tourists at the
time of the event. Thus, the cultural events are now not limited among a certain cultural groups,
rather it is becoming major tourist destination. The authors have aligned the concept of
sustainable development with that of the tourism in Nigeria. According to them, initiation of the
festivals and events as tourist destinations is helping to have more inflow of foreign traffic and
having sustainable way of economic development.
This article is being used mainly due to identify the other relevant factors associated with
the Notting Hill festival. The information from this article can be used in identifying the trend of
involvement of the foreign tourists in the festival. In addition, this information will also be useful
in determining the impact of the Notting Hill festival on the economy of the United Kingdom.
The concept of the Notting Hill festival is being effectively adhered with the economic scenario
of the United Kingdom. It is also being identified that the authors have discussed the entire
concept of festivals from the economic perspective but it is important to consider that not all the

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festivals are profitable from the economic perspective. Thus, it is one of the major limitations of
this article.
Getz, D. and Page, S., 2016. Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events.
Routledge.
As discussed in the first section, it is important for the events to be well coordinated and
planned in order to have the maximum effectiveness. Getz and Page stated about the importance
of policy in the planned events. According to the authors, policy of the events mainly in the case
of the festivals is focused on designing the approach of the event. This is due to the reason that
festivals can provide less or more involvement of the visitors. In the case of the Notting Hill
Festival, the involvement of the visitors is high and they can effectively participate in the event.
Thus, as per the authors, this can be termed as the policy of the Notting Hill festival to have the
higher involvement of the stakeholders. In addition, it is also being stated that planned events
with having effective and proper policy helps in maximizing the value to the stakeholders and in
turn enhances the viability. The information of this book is beneficial in evaluating the policy
being initiated in the Notting Hill festival. In addition, it is also being discussed with the help of
this book about how the value of the shareholders is being maximized with having proper
planning and policy.
In this book, the authors have discussed about the major policies being followed in the
case of planned events along with their implications. However, it is also should be considered
that different events are having different approaches along with different strategic intent. Thus, it
is difficult to evaluate the different policies of different festivals with the singular approach being
discussed by the authors. In addition, it is also being identified that policies may also pose a

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number of difficulties in the planned events, which are not being discussed by the authors in this
book. This can be considered as a limitation of this book.
Ferris, L., 2013. Incremental art: negotiating the route of London’s Notting Hill Carnival.
In Carnival Art, Culture and Politics (pp. 127-144). Routledge.
The above sections have already discussed about the different concepts in relation to the
events and festivals and this it is important to evaluate and discuss about the Notting Hill
Festival. According to Ferris (2013), Notting Hill Festival is one of the major festivals in the
United Kingdom with having their presence from the late fifties. It is being stated by the author
that the main objective of the Notting Hill Festival is to promote cultural unity and thus the
involvement of the people from different social and cultural backgrounds is well evident till now.
It can also be considered as a major trend and the cultural diversity of the Notting Hill Festival is
increasing rapidly. It is also being stated by the author Notting Hill Festival is majorly being
inspired by the Caribbean trends due to the reason that the organizers are from Caribbean islands
and the Notting Hill region is having good portion of Caribbean Diaspora. However, in the
following stage, the whole event was turned in to a limited company and they are the main
organizer of the Notting Hill Festival till now.
This article is beneficial in providing a few information and trends being followed in the
Notting Hill Festival, which is further being added in the info graphic. In addition, this
information also helped in identify the objective of organizing this event and who the organizers
are implementing different steps in meeting and achieving their objectives. However, on the
other hand, it is also being identified that this article lacks the negative side of the Notting Hill
Festival. This is due to the reason that it is reported that organizers of the Notting Hill Festival

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was accused of charging the journalists for covering the events and demanding copies of their
coverage. This should also be discussed in order to have the proper insights about the festival.
Werbner, P. and Fumanti, M., 2013. The aesthetics of diaspora: Ownership and
appropriation. Ethnos, 78(2), pp.149-174.
Werbner and Fumanti (2013) stated that one of the major trends being followed in the
Notting Hill festival is the involvement of the music bands in the event. This is due to the reason
that traditionally Notting Hill festival started with colorful parades representing the different
cultural aspects and diversity. However, in the following stages, different music bands are being
involved and it is now became a trend of having music as an integral part of the festival. The
authors have also stated that the evolving trend of involving music and dances positioned Notting
Hill festival as a major cultural event in the United Kingdom and also increased the market
coverage attracting larger sets of society. This article helped in identifying the major trends being
followed in the Notting Hill festival and how they are changing the entire approach and
positioning of the event.
Taylor, E. and Kneafsey, M., 2016. The place of urban cultural heritage festivals: The case
of London’s Notting Hill Carnival. In Cultural heritage in a changing world (pp. 181-196).
Springer, Cham.
Taylor and Kneafsey (2016) stated that even though Notting Hill festival is one of the
major events of the United Kingdom but still it is important to identify newer avenues for future
development. It is stated by them that one of the major options for the organizers of Notting Hill
festival is to develop new market in the new regions. This is due to the reason that this festival is
happening from the exact location from its initial stage and a certain level of saturation is

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evident. Thus, it is important for the organizers to increase the visibility of the festival by
conducting in different other potential locations. The authors have also stated that these locations
may be from the United Kingdom or from the global regions. This can help in increasing the
awareness about the festival along with increasing the economic viability. In addition, it is also
identified that organizers of Notting Hill festival should also involve more cultural avenues apart
from music and dance and should also have more cultural adaptation. This will help to have
more diversity in terms of cultures in the festival and will help Notting Hill festival to have more
social acceptability among the different regions.
Conclusion
It is concluded that from the resources discussed in this paper that Notting Hill festival is
one of the major events of the United Kingdom. It is identified that this festival started as cultural
event in the late fifties but gradually turned more mainstream and became a major tourist
destination for the foreign traffic. In addition, it is also discussed about the different positive and
negative elements associated with the Notting Hill festival. The major trends including the
involvement of the music bands in the event are also being discussed in this paper. This essay
concluded that it is important for the Notting Hill festival to identify different avenues for further
development and viability. A few avenues are being discussed in this paper, which will further
help Notting Hill festival to grow in new regions in the long term.

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Reference
Ferdinand, N. and Williams, N.L., 2013. International festivals as experience production
systems. Tourism Management, 34, pp.202-210.
Ferris, L., 2013. Incremental art: negotiating the route of London’s Notting Hill Carnival.
In Carnival Art, Culture and Politics (pp. 127-144). Routledge.
Getz, D. and Page, S., 2016. Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events.
Routledge.
Johansson, M.A.R.J.A.N.A., 2017. Performing diversity at festivals. Making sense of arts
management. Research, Cases and Practices, pp.92-98.
Johnson, W.C., 2014. Guerrilla Ganja Gun Girls: Policing Black Revolutionaries from Notting
Hill to Laventille. Gender & History, 26(3), pp.661-687.
Omitola, A., 2017. Tourism and sustainable development in Nigeria: attractions and limitations
of carnivals and festivals. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 19(2), pp.122-132.
Taylor, E. and Kneafsey, M., 2016. The place of urban cultural heritage festivals: The case of
London’s Notting Hill Carnival. In Cultural heritage in a changing world (pp. 181-196).
Springer, Cham.
Werbner, P. and Fumanti, M., 2013. The aesthetics of diaspora: Ownership and
appropriation. Ethnos, 78(2), pp.149-174.

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Bibliography
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Festival & special event management BY ALLWN JOHNNY 2011