The Alternative Carnival

On the same day as the successful Notting Hill Carnival, Livingstone held his own Caribbean Showcase in Hyde Park. Guess who paid the bill:

Damian Hockney: Could the Mayor detail how the Caribbean Showcase on Bank Holiday Monday in Hyde Park was financed. How much did the GLA contribute? How much did it cost altogether? Who contributed the rest?

Ken Livingstone: The Showcase was financed by the GLA and through sponsorship.

Altogether the Caribbean Showcase cost £308,000. The net cost to the core GLA was £68,000. The LDA contributed £120,000 and Creative London contributed £95,000 as outlined in DA 1654. The remaining income was raised through sponsorship (£15,000) and stalls (£10,000) from the following organisations: Western Union, London Fire Brigade, Transport for London, GV Media Group (publishers of the Voice newspaper) and the Colourful Network.

The majority of the organisations listed above are, of course, publicly funded....