Javed Hussain, founder of Media Reach the UK’s longest-standing multicultural media and marketing agency has issued a stark call for transparency and reform in how Britain funds its cultural landscape, spotlighting a long-standing disparity in the treatment of Black-led events such as the iconic Notting Hill Carnival.
The Carnival, a celebration of Caribbean heritage and one of the world’s largest street festivals, will go ahead this year only thanks to an emergency £1 million funding package. This lifeline, however, came not from central government or Arts Council England, but from City Hall, Kensington & Chelsea Council, and Westminster Council. The intervention highlights what Hussain describes as an “alarming pattern” of underinvestment in Black culture by national institutions.
“Let’s be honest: if Notting Hill Carnival were led by any other community, would it still be scraping for survival every year?” Hussain asks. “There’s a troubling trend where Black-led cultural institutions are consistently overlooked, while others receive long-term, strategic investment.”
To illustrate this, Hussain points to comparative public investment in British-Asian cultural events:
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In 2017, Croydon Mela was awarded £240,000 by Arts Council England.
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Between 2012 and 2020, The London Mela received just under £500,000.
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Worcester Mela was part of a consortium that secured £800,000 in public funding.
Meanwhile, Notting Hill Carnival attended by nearly two million people annually and estimated to generate tens of millions for London’s economy continues to receive no consistent or long-term government support.
“Why is the bar so much higher when it comes to Black cultural events?” Hussain asks. “We celebrate diversity in speeches, but the data tells a different story. Is Black culture seen as less valuable or less deserving by the very institutions responsible for nurturing our cultural identity?”
Hussain says the current reliance on last-minute funding is not only unsustainable, but insulting. “This isn’t just about money. It’s about recognition. It’s about respect. It’s about whether Black British communities are seen as equal contributors to the story of modern Britain.”
As a trailblazer who has spent over three decades representing multicultural Britain in the media space amplifying voices from Black, Asian, and Eastern European backgrounds Hussain is now urging the Treasury, Arts Council England, and regional cultural bodies to launch a full and transparent review into cultural funding inequalities.
He believes the question is no longer whether there is a disparity but why it continues to persist.
“Do Black-led organisations and events systematically receive less funding from government and the arts establishment? And if so, what will be done to address this injustice?”
Hussain’s intervention comes at a time when cultural institutions across the UK are under growing pressure to demonstrate genuine inclusivity not just in words, but in funding, representation, and systemic support.
