The Tottenham Carnival is back in its full glory this year. Picture: Tony Gay

Tottenham Carnival back to ‘former glory’ next month

by Flora Drury Wednesday, May 30, 2012
5:01 PM

A Tottenham festival is being brought back to its “former glory” after red tape forced organisers to cancel part of last year’s event.

The full Tottenham Carnival returns at 11am on Saturday, June 23, with a 2,000-strong parade along Seven Sisters Road, up the High Road and along Lordship Lane followed by an afternoon of music, fun and colour at Bruce Castle Park from 2pm until 7pm.

Carnival chairman Nicky Price is expecting about 20,000 to 30,000 people to attend either the parade or the festivities in the park – which includes five stages, a funfair and food and drink stalls – throughout the day, bringing the festival back with a bang.

Last year’s party in the park had to be cancelled when costs spiralled after police said they would no longer be able to patrol inside the grounds, sparking security concern – which in turn delayed making vital bookings and saw prices rise.

Mr Price said: “We have been running for 15 years and last year was the first year we did not have the park. We just did the parade.

“Because of cutbacks we found it too difficult to put on the event because of trouble with the police and council.

“But this year we’ve worked really hard to bring it back to its former glory.”

The organisers made sure they were prepared to deal with the concerns this year.

Mr Price said: “We have increased our stewarding by more than 100 per cent. We had to step up and replicate what the police were giving us. The council has made it harder for us. The good news is we compromised on everything and got the licence. It’s been a hard slog.”

Get involved with this year’s parade and carnival by e-mailing Mr Price on nicky@tottenhamcarnival.co.uk or calling 07932668277.

For more information, visit www.tottenhamcarnival.co.uk.