Panorama 2021
2021 – London School of Samba invited to Perform at Panorama 2021
Panorama 2021 - the UK national steelband competition
Panorama 2021
Panorama 2021 - the UK national steelband competition
Panorama 2021, the UK national steelband competition, welcomed drummers and dancers from the London School of Samba for our debut performance! With no live Carnival on the streets of Notting Hill again this year, London School of Samba was invited by the NHC organisers to make a debut at the prestigious Panorama 2021 annual steel pan orchestra competition at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park on Saturday 28 August 2021.
The UK National Panorama Steelband Competition is an annual steel pan event that is held in London over the Notting Hill Carnival weekend and is the most respected and anticipated outside of the Caribbean. Following a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, Notting Hill Carnival Ltd announced the return of the UK National Panorama Steelband Competition this year.
There were four competing steel bands all looking to take the title of Panorama 2021! The first band up was ‘Ebony’ and they were followed by ‘Croydon Steel Orchestra’. Then it was the turn of ‘Metronomes’ and finally ‘Mangrove’ closed out the Panorama 2021 UK steelband competition. In a hotly fought contest, Mangrove Steelband held on to its title as UK Panorama 2021 champion, making it the steel orchestra’s eleventh win in the Panorama competition. For more information about this event, visit panonthenet.
London School of Samba appeared with two other London Brazilian bands at Panorama 2021 – Baque de Axé and Tribo, all three of which are in the process of forming the London Association of Brazilian Carnival Bands. Led by Mestre Mags, LSS performed the song Exaltacao with puxador Chris Mullins Silverstein, Vik Choudhuri on cavaquinho, long-serving members of our Velha Guarda Pru Lunberg, Yasemin Sami and Joan Eggleston, and the bateria was reinforced by a lively contingent from our sister school, Bristol-based Bloco B.
It was a fun gig for the London School of Samba playing at Panorama 2021, and the school was very proud to be a part of this community event. Watch The event online: London School of Samba Gig at Notting Hill Carnival Panorama 2021.
Revisiting Historic First London School of Samba Barracão
London School of Samba bateria director Mestre Mags said: “It was great to be back in action after such a long break. All three Brazilian bands looked great and put on terrific shows. Kensal Green is a special and historic place for the school – as the Pleasance Park borders on East Row, which was home of the LSS’s first barracão (Carnival ‘barracks’ or base), the Omnibus Theatre, from 1984-87 and the nearby Venture Centre 1987-90. It was a little taste of carnival, and we all hope next year Notting Hill Carnival will be back better than ever!”
Carnival Manager / Producer
