The different kind of Yorkshireness that is Leeds Carnival
On August Bank Holiday Monday an estimated 100,000 people from all over Yorkshire thronged the traffic-free streets of the Chapeltown area of Leeds to celebrate what is now an authentic and special part of Yorkshire culture – the annual Leeds West Indian Carnival.
The Leeds may not be England’s largest carnival, a title claimed by London’s Notting Hill. But it is Britain and Europe’s oldest, dating back to 1967. It was actually three Leeds students – Frankie Davies, originally from Trinadad, Tony Lewis from Jamaica and Arthur France from St Kitts-Nevis, who in 1966/7 came up with the idea of a Leeds Carnival. Arthur is now Arthur France MBE, the revered Chairperson of the Leeds West Indian Carnival and recipient of a special Yorkshire Award in 2022.
Dr Arthur France at the Carnival he created.
The concept these three young men had was to recapture and celebrate the rich history, culture and heritage of their Caribbean birthplace and share it with the many West Indian communities now living in Leeds and West Yorkshire. This would keep that precious sense of identity alive not only to what we now know as the Windrush generation and their successors but their descendants in years to come – pride in one’s culture is something we understand more than most in Yorkshire.
Carnival has a long history in West Indian culture. its origins lie as far back when, on the first of August 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire and so 750,000 slaves in the British West Indies formally became free and took to the streets to celebrate their freedom.
One fascinating parallel with Yorkshire and The Yorkshire Society is that this auspicious day, August 1st, was selected to be Yorkshire Day and, in part, to mark the achievement of a great Yorkshireman William Wilberforce – leader of the movement to abolish slavery.
In a way, Leeds Carnival reflects the story of Yorkshire, that of our Anglian and Viking forefathers and the successive waves of Norman, Huguenots, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Polish, South Asian and Caribbeans who followed to make Yorkshire their home and who have so enriched our culture.
The Carnival route, a circuit of some two miles from Potter Newton Park, which hosted major celebrations and stalls, ran through Spenser Place, Barrack Road and Chapeltown Road. Watched by a crowd of many thousands from every background, a series of floats with amplified music of different Caribbean styles was followed by brilliantly costumed dancers. Each group had their own sometimes highly complex and athletic routines and choreography. The costumes were breathtaking, stunningly vivid and beautiful creations, some of them clearly requiring hours of work to fashion out of simple materials since the Leeds Carnival is not a big budget event. This now major Yorkshire celebration of diversity also illustrates how people from the West Indies in particular have enriching our culture – with Caribbean food, music, vibrant colour, vitality and energy.
Leeds Carnival is something truly made in Yorkshire and we can all take pride in it.
