A new electric double-decker bus will be one of the floats taking part in this weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, with a special Windrush decoration by the artist Baraka Carberry. The bus will form part of the transport body’s parade at Notting Hill Carnival, themed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of passengers on the SS Empire Windrush.
(c) TfL
In collaboration with Lagniappe Mas band and the Windrush Generation Legacy Association, TfL will take part in the carnival’s parade on both Sunday and Monday. Central to TfL’s float is a double-decker bus provided by Go Ahead London, wrapped in a design with a mix of portraits of elders, some who previously worked on the London transport network, and current TfL colleagues, in recognition and celebration of their contributions to transport in the city.
The bus wrap is designed by artist Baraka Carberry, who was one of five artists of Caribbean heritage who recently created the Windrush 75 stamps for Royal Mail.
A collage of photographs from the London Transport Museum collections forms the fabric of the characters’ clothing, featuring people, places and symbols that have shaped the Windrush legacy along with memories from the carnival in years gone by.
Following the carnival, the decorated bus will be in service throughout Black History Month in October.
Andy Lord, TfL’s Transport Commissioner, who will be on the bus over the weekend, said: “Our transport network would not be the success it is today without the incredible contributions of the Windrush generation who answered the call to come here from the Caribbean to work, so Baraka Carberry’s design is a fitting tribute. I am honoured to join our Windrush veterans, their descendants and colleagues past and present at the carnival to mark this significant anniversary of the arrival of Empire Windrush, whilst also celebrating the diversity of our people.”
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