SKN roots still centre stage at UK carnivals

St Kitts and Nevis energy was on full display in the UK this Bank Holiday as the 58th Leeds West Indian Carnival lit up Chapeltown with colour, music and culture.

The history runs deep: the carnival was started back in 1967 by Arthur France, who had come to Leeds from St Kitts and Nevis with a small group of pioneers. Nearly six decades later, it’s now the oldest Caribbean-style street carnival in Europe — and still proudly carrying SKN’s stamp.

Arthur’s words during Monday’s celebrations hit home: “It’s so important that we celebrate our Black culture here in the UK… We’ve won already because we’re here.”

The day wasn’t just about costumes and parades. RJC Dance set their 2025 theme around roots, rainforest and sustainability, with Director Kathy Williams calling it a bridge for the next generation: “These are the generations who will take carnival into the next millennium and save the planet.” Costume designer Rhian Kempadoo-Millar tied it all together, finishing a three-year “sustainable trilogy” of carnival outfits.

For Nevisians and Kittitians abroad, Leeds Carnival isn’t just a party — it’s heritage, emancipation and community on full display. And it links straight into the wider Caribbean story in the UK, from Chapeltown to Notting Hill Carnival in London, where that same rhythm of pride and identity will soon take over the capital’s streets.

Different cities, same heartbeat — and at the centre of it all, the roots of St Kitts and Nevis culture still pushing the music, the mas, and the message forward.