London Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival has been held annually since the mid 1960s and is one of the largest street festivals in the world; the West Indian inhabitants of the time brought Caribbean customs with them to London and the event has been growing ever since. Over a million people turn out to see the 20-mile parade with its spectacular costumes, floats, bands and more.  The event has a strong Caribbean flavour and  a plethora of food stalls where you can literally taste it! Flavours of the day include jerk chicken with rice and curried goat. Though there are preliminary events, including the 6 am paint throwing which marks the start of the festivities on Sunday morning, the main event is the parade on Bank Holiday Monday and now on Bank Holiday Sunday as well, which lasts around twelve hours, winding down by around 9pm. There’ll be lots of dancing, drumming, feathers and outrageous yet almost non-existent apparel in every colour of the rainbow.

Helpful Hints

In 2025 it should be on Sunday 24th and Monday 25th August.

Expect huge crowds and lots of police – plan your day in advance as transport will be full to capacity and there are road and tube station closures for the event. If you want to take photos (particularly if you’re not very tall) arrive at the early end of the day as there’s a much better view then.

The Sunday parade is more child-friendly as it’s much less crowded. Maps of the parade route are given out near the festival area, free of charge, or you can download them from the carnival website.

Click here for the event website : http://www.thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com

and Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/NHCarnivalLDN