London Road Carnival came to an exciting climax with the vibrant festival filling west Croydon with colour, music, dance and food.
More than 2,500 people gathered to celebrate the area’s diverse and energetic atmosphere on Sunday.
Ahzaz Chowdhury, chairman of the London Road Carnival, said: “It was a really good year. It grew on last year and was bigger and better, with traders and the whole community getting involved. It was an amazing day to celebrate everything London Road has to offer.”
Headline act Angie Brown gave a lively performance, getting people dancing in the street.
Mr Chowdhury said: “The range of music and dancing on show was fantastic, with a special mention to Angie Brown – and her sons – whose performance and energy really blew me away, it got everyone singing along and moving their feet.”
This year’s carnival marked the first time the area has come together to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan.
The festival, formerly the West Croydon Carnival of Cultures, started in 2011 in response to the riots of that year and has continued since then to boost business and bring people together.
Mr Chowdhury said: “I had a moratorium on use of the word ‘riot’ during the entire planning process of the carnival and I’m extremely glad that on the day, it is something that we, as a community, have moved on from.”
The event was organised by the London Road Traders Association. Vice-chairwoman Julie Agbowu, said: “This was our third event, and it was definitely better than ever before.
“The future of Croydon is bright, and we have shown that today.”
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