This year’s Notting Hill carnival has greater significance because of the Black Lives Matter movement and the debate over British colonial history, according to its organiser, who said it provided an opportunity for the UK to embrace unity. Matthew Phillip, the carnival’s executive director, said that despite the event being held online because of the Covid-19 outbreak, it was still a vital celebration of black British life, especially during a year when racial tensions have come to the fore. “For more than 50 years carnival has been a statement that Black Lives Matter,” he said. “That’s normal practice for us, it’s not something that we’re just jumping on now because of the current global climate and what’s going on. Carnival has been making these statements for 50 years.” He said carnival’s original purpose, to celebrate Caribbean culture and unite disparate communities in London, was more important that ever after Black Lives Matter protests and counter protests exposed racial divisions in the UK: “Yes, we say Black Lives Matter, but it’s about promoting unity and inclusion. That’s why it was set up in the first place, to bring different communities together from different backgrounds as well as celebrating our heritage, which dates back to slavery.” Phillip said the virtual festival had been far harder to organise than the normal event, which is the largest street party in Europe and usually attracts more than a million people to west London over the carnival weekend. The organisers have had to pre-record live sets from musicians, conduct interviews with mas groups and soundsystem operators, and create guides for people to recreate Caribbean food in their own homes, as they transformed the street festival into a three-day online event. The British soul singer Omar Lye-Fook was one of a group of artists, including , who recorded short sets at Abbey Road Studios that will be broadcast over the weekend. Lye-Fook said the set was recorded three weeks ago in socially distanced conditions, and echoed Phillip’s comments that carnival had a special role in 2020. “In a year when people have been protesting against the treatment of black people I think this is a good way of showing that we have something to contribute, something that is positive,” he said. Other performers taking part over the course of the weekend include the Jamaican reggae singer Koffee, and the Nigerian afrobeats stars Davido and Tiwa Savage, who all pre-recorded performances that are available to stream online. There is also an online version of the parade, which is a highlight of the event and features thousands of participants, plus DJ sets from soundsystems that usually set up in regular spots dotted around the streets of Notting Hill. Lye-Fook, who has attended carnival since he was a child and has performed on several occasions, said the online version was acceptable as a one-off, but that nothing could compete with the real-life street event. “This whole Covid-19 thing has shown how important it is for people to socialise,” he said. “You know that that feeling of being around other people is really vital, so the sooner they get it sorted out the better.” Police and organisers have encouraged people to stay away from the usual route of the carnival, which announced in May that it would not take place on the streets of west London for the first time in its 54-year history. Phillip said the event would play a vital role in celebrating but also marking the difficulties of 2020. “Obviously it’s been a difficult time for everybody, but people need to feel part of something. We will always want to celebrate it you know, and that’s not taking away from the hard times and the loss that people have felt recently,” he said. “Carnival has such a deep and meaningful significance. This is about marking and remembering why carnival is here, and while we’re not out on the streets and we’re not having that normal celebration, we are marking it and celebrating carnival, but in a responsible way.”