The Leeds Carnival, also called the Leeds West Indian Carnival or the Chapeltown Carnival, is one of the longest running West Indian carnivals in Europe, having been going since 1967. The carnival is held in the Chapeltown and Harehills parts of Leeds every August bank holiday [1] weekend. Attendance is estimated at 150,000. [2]
It is a three-day event, climaxing in a carnival procession on Bank Holiday Monday, which starts and finishes in Potternewton Park in Chapeltown. A parade of floats and dancers makes its way along Harehills Avenue, down Roundhay Road in Harehills, along Barrack Road and back along Chapeltown Road to the park, where a wide range of stages and stalls provide entertainment and refreshment for carnival-goers. Since 2005 this event has been covered by BBC Radio 1Xtra in conjunction with Notting Hill Carnival. [3]
The Carnival Queen is chosen on the Friday before the main event, and in 2008 for the first time a Carnival King was chosen: they were Davina Williams and Tyrone Henry. [4] The 2009 King and Queen were Tony and Nicole Isles, who are father and daughter. [5]
Its founders were Arthur France, then a Leeds University student from Nevis, who is longstanding Chairman; Ian Charles, who was still Co-ordinator in 2008; [6] and Gertrude Paul, a teacher. [7] Arthur France proposed what would be the first Caribbean-style outdoor carnival organized by people of Caribbean origin in Europe. As the local Caribbean association was not forthcoming, he formed his own committee, and Ian Charles's home became a factory for costumes. [8] Five contestants entered the first Carnival Queen Show, won by Vicky Seal as the Sun Goddess. They joined bands and dancers in a procession from Potternewton Park to Leeds Town Hall, where a steel band competition was followed by a dance. About 1,000 people attended. The Leeds performers were invited to participate in the Notting Hill Carnival later the same year. [8]
In the 1970s a procession route was established from Potternewton Park and back again via the city centre. The steel bands were on human-powered wheeled platforms. [8] In 1977 crowds of 10,000 were reported. [8]
The 1980s established a shorter route around Chapeltown and Harehills, and also sponsorship by local organizations. A Carnival Prince and Princess (children aged three to 13) were also chosen. Attendance reached 40,000 in 1988. [8]
In 1990 three people died during violence in the area afterwards. [8] [9] The decade saw increased professionalism by the now very experienced Carnival Committee and the introduction of lorries to carry bands. 1997 was the 30th anniversary and Arthur France received the MBE for his work with the local community.
2007 was the 40th anniversary, with crowds of 100,000 for the first time. [10] It was also the 25th anniversary of the Leeds West Indian Centre, and the bicentenary of the British abolition of transatlantic slavery. Ian Charles also received the MBE. [10]
In 2020 it was cancelled for the first time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] It returned in 2022. [12]
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966 on the streets of the Notting Hill area of Kensington, over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
J'ouvert is a traditional Carnival celebration in many countries throughout the Caribbean. The parade is believed to have its foundation in Trinidad & Tobago, with roots steeped in French Afro-Creole traditions such as Canboulay. J'ouvert typically begins in the early morning, before dawn, and peaks by mid-morning. The celebration involves calypso or soca bands, DJs, and their followers dancing through the streets. In many countries, revelers cover their bodies in paint, mud, or pitch oil. Today J'ouvert is also a part of Carnival celebrations outside of the Caribbean, with the biggest celebrations happening in cities with large Caribbean ex-pat communities.
Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Leeds city centre. Harehills is between the A58 and the A64. It sits in the Gipton & Harehills ward of Leeds City Council and the Leeds East parliamentary constituency, between Burmantofts and Gipton, and adjacent to Chapeltown.
Chapeltown is a suburb of north-east Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Leeds City Council Ward of Chapel Allerton. It is approximately one mile north of Leeds city centre.
The Canboulay riots were a series of disturbances in the British colony of Trinidad in 1881 and 1884. The riots came about in response to efforts by the colonial police to restrict aspects of the island's annual Carnival festival. In Port of Spain, San Fernando, and Princes Town, angered Trinidadians rioted in response to the actions of police. The violence of the Canboulay Riots resulted in many injuries, as well as fatalities. As a result of the riots, new government restrictions placed on Canboulay traditions. New musical instruments and styles were created in reaction to these prohibitions, which influenced the development of calypso and later soca. Additionally, the pre-carnival tradition of J'ouvert originates with Canboulay and the Canboulay Riots.
Leeds North East is a constituency which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Fabian Hamilton of the Labour Party.
Potternewton also Potter Newton is a suburb and parish between Chapeltown and Chapel Allerton in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Chapel Allerton ward of Leeds City Council.
The Jamaican diaspora refers to the body of Jamaicans who have left the country of Jamaica, their dispersal and to a lesser extent the subsequent developments of their culture. Jamaicans can be found in the far corners of the world, but the largest pools of Jamaicans, outside of Jamaica itself, exist in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Cayman Islands and all across the Caribbean Coast of Central America, namely Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.
Chapel Allerton Hospital is located in the area of Chapel Allerton, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is operated by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The main entrance is on Chapeltown Road, with vehicle exits onto Harehills Lane and Newton Road.
On 5 June 2001, a riot broke out in the Harehills area of Leeds, England, triggered by the allegedly wrongful and heavy-handed arrest of Hossein Miah, an Asian man, by West Yorkshire Police. More than 200 people, predominantly Asian youths, were involved in the seven-hour-long clash against the police, which continued into the early hours of 6 June.
The Chapeltown riot occurred on 5 November 1975 in the troubled Leeds district of Chapeltown in West Yorkshire, England. They were not to be the last riots in the area with further rioting in 1981 and 1987 and rioting in nearby Harehills in 2001.
Chapel Allerton is an inner suburb of north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city centre.
The Chapeltown Riots of 1981 took place in the Leeds district of Chapeltown in West Yorkshire, England, during a time when many other areas of the UK were suffering similar problems. The riots unfolded in July 1981 from a background of racial tension, inner city poverty, poor housing and high unemployment. This brought high tension, particularly amongst the area's Caribbean community, culminating in attacks on the local police.
Geraldine Connor, PhD, MMus, LRSM, DipEd, was a British ethnomusicologist, theatre director, composer and performer, who spent significant periods of her life in Trinidad and Tobago, from where her parents had migrated to Britain in the 1940s. Her father was actor, singer and folklorist Edric Connor and her mother was theatrical agent and cultural activist Pearl Connor. Geraldine Connor is best known for having written, composed and directed Carnival Messiah, a spectacular work that "married the European classical tradition of oratorio with masquerade and musical inspiration from the African diaspora". For more than 20 years, she lived in Skelmanthorpe in Yorkshire, where she went in 1990 as a lecturer at the University of Leeds.
Sam Beaver King MBE was a Jamaican-British campaigner and community activist. He first came to England as an engineer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War but returned to Jamaica in 1947. Failing to settle there, King took passage to London in 1948, sailing on the Empire Windrush. He later became the first black mayor of Southwark and a campaigner in support of West Indian immigrants to the country.
Potternewton Park is a public park located in Chapeltown, approximately two miles north of Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England.
Gertrude Maretta Paul was a teacher and advocate for the British Caribbean community in Yorkshire.
Cedric Clarke is a retired British Labour politician. He was the first black Leeds City Councillor, serving from 1980 to 1990 and was made an Honorary Alderman of Leeds in 2016
Khadijah Ibrahiim is a literary activist, theatre maker and writer from Leeds. She is the founder and artistic director of Leeds Young Authors, and executive producer of the documentary ‘We Are Poets’. She and her work have appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4.