LMHR CARNIVAL ‘REVIEW’ IN THE NEW STATESMAN - UNION LEADERS RESPOND
Daniel Trilling’s ‘review’ of the LMHR Carnival in the New Statesman was the sound of the point sailing way over the head of the reviewer. Leaders of some of the event’s main trade union sponsors responded…
Daniel Trilling (Love Music, Hate Commercial Sponsorship) appears to have attended a different LMHR Carnival to the rest of us. If he did actually file his report after being in Victoria Park on April 27th then he could at least have taken the trouble to get his facts right.
Our unions were proud to be among the major sponsors of this important event. To say the Carnival was undermined by commercialism is a gross reversal of the truth. This was an event which was free to enter - with a line-up that would easily grace a commercial music festival
costing £50 and upwards. The costs of the event were paid for almost entirely from trade union sponsorship and fund-raising, and from the donations of individuals opposed to racism. Not one of the 30-odd acts appearing at the event received a fee. The sole commercial presence
Daniel was able to find to justify his lurid headline - a ‘Carling-sponsored’ beer tent provided by the Carnival’s catering concessionaire - accounted for a small fraction of the Carnival’s
income. If Daniel had been paying attention, he would have noticed the trade union and other political logos, messages and video displayed on the main stage’s large dual video screens throughout the day, and the huge trade union banners festooning the Unite-sponsored second stage and the PCS-sponsored dance tent. He would have noticed a brilliantly political 20-page Carnival programme aimed at getting people actively involved in LMHR - again with not a single commercial advertisement.
He might also have noticed some of the thousands who signed up to the anti-fascist movement, and the many people who joined a trade union on the day.
Daniel’s critical faculties also appear to have abandoned him. What we and most reviewers and attendees saw was a wonderfully diverse range of artists performing with passion and style who attracted a wonderfully diverse audience - most of whom stayed all day and lapped up the variety of music as well as the political message. A “slew of middle-of-the-road rock bands” there was not.
We need more events like LMHR Carnival ‘08. To pull off such an ambitious and successful event with no commercial sponsorship is testament to months of hard work by hundreds of people - many voluntarily - and to the determination of so many in our society to be rid of racism. Such events are vital if we are to succeed in engaging a new generation in fighting oppression and injustice. The trade union movement and organisations like LMHR are taking a lead in
re-establishing a radical cultural current in UK politics. The New Statesman ought to be applauding such initiatives rather than pouring ill-informed scorn. Those of your readers who wish to make up their own mind about the flavour and impact of the event are encouraged to
see the photographic, film and review evidence for themselves at www.lmhrcarnival.com
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Pubic and Commercial Services Union
Chris Keates - General Secretary, NASUWT
Christine Blower - General Secretary (acting), National Union of Teachers
