Notting Hill Carnival Is Returning This Weekend And Here's What You Need To Know
Notting Hill Carnival, one of the biggest cultural events in the UK, is returning this weekend following a two year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Carnival annually sees more than two million people descend on the west London borough over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
From parades and musical performances, to family-fun events and food stalls offering delicious food like Trinidadian roti, Guyanese pepper pot and Jamaican jerk chicken, it's a summer event not to be missed.
Here is everything you need to know about the Notting Hill Carnival:
What is happening at Notting Hill Carnival 2022?
A better question might be what isn't happening at this year's Carnival? This year the event will welcome its first-ever electric float, after the Carnival's organisers partnered with Spotify to make the festivities more eco-friendly.
'The electric float was a huge success at Glastonbury,' Mathew Phillip, the Carnival’s CEO, told Time Out. 'We’re very pleased and we’ve tested it to check it can reach the sound qualities that we need and last the distance and time.'
This year’s carnival will take place on the August bank holiday weekend (August 27-29).
On Sunday and Monday, the parades (which are approximately three and a half miles long) will begin at 10:00 am, with the judging coming to an end around 6:30 pm. While the Carnival officially ends at 7pm, after-parties are known to take place following the official proceedings in the area. We'll see you there...
What is the Notting Hill Carnival 2022 schedule?
Saturday August 27
The event kicks off on Saturday, with Panorama, a family-friendly ticketed event in Emslie Horniman Pleasance Park, involving live music and the UK’s largest steel pan competition.
Sunday August 28
One of the busiest day of the festival will welcome the J’Ouvert Carnival, which starts around 6am and will feature steel bands and African drummers.
The children’s parade starts at 10:30 am and will be led by members of a virtual running community (Emancipated Run Crew). The Evening Standard reports the group will wear green to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Monday August 29
On Bank Holiday Monday, events begin around midday and will see more than 80 bands walk through the streets to entertain the crowds. Following the procession 40 sound systems are expected to continue bringing the music.
What's the Notting Hill Carnival line-up?
In recent years everyone from Alicai Harley, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and even Beyoncé have appeared at the festival.
Steel bands like Ebony and Mangrove, two of the oldest bands at Carnival, will make an appearance at the Carnival, as well as soundsystem must-sees like Channel One Soundsystem, Disya Jeneration, Gladdy Wax and Love TKO.
Do I need to buy a ticket for Notting Hill Carnival?
Not at all! The NHC parade is free for everyone (some family events are ticketed, though).
However, to take part in the parade, you need to be part of an authorised group. In order to attend the afterparties across the city, you'll likely need a ticket.
What is the Notting Hill Carnival?
The Notting Hill Carnival first began in the 1960s following the London Caribbean Carnival, which began at St Pancras Town Hall in January 1959, to celebrate West Indian culture and traditions in London.
It came after the Notting Hill race riots in the late 1950s, which involved racially motivated attacks by white nationalists, including a group called the Teddy Boys, who were critical of West Indian immigration to the North Kensington area and interracial relationships.
The Carnival, known at the beginning as the 'Notting Hill Fayre', was founded by Notting Hill resident Rhaune Laslett as a way of celebrating the integration of the neighbourhood’s diverse community. Laslett invited the musician Russell Henderson and his Trinidadian Steel Band to perform for the crowd at the first Carnival.
In its early days, around 500 people attended the Notting Hill Carnival but it has since transformed into a world famous celebration attracting millions of celebrants.
‘There was no route, really – if you saw a bus coming, you just went another way,’ Henderson told the Guardian in 2015.
On an average year, Carnival goers may see up to 50,000 performers in the parade, numerous colourful floats, around 40 sound systems, 10 steel pan bans and live sets from the likes of musicians Rudimental and Paloma Faith.
The line-up for the Carnival isn’t usually announced until days before it begins, but it’s not just about the music. Delectable Caribbean cuisine is also sold from street vendors to hungry revellers.
The main parade usually involves 'mas bands' (meaning masquerade bands), dancers and musicians and stages like Horniman’s Stage and Powis Square Stage.
When does Notting Hill Carnival usually take place?
Notting Hill Carnival happens every year on the last weekend of August.
The ‘children's day’ commonly takes place on the Sunday and sees a vibrant parade especially targeted at children and young families.
Meanwhile, The Grand Finale – involving bands, floats and colourful Carnival celebrations – takes place on the Monday.
The celebrations usually kick off around 10.30am and finish from anything between 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
In 2019, a 72-second silence was held on the Saturday and Sunday at 3pm in memory of each of the 72 people who lost their lives as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Where is Notting Hill Carnival?
The Carnival moves around the streets of London W10 and W11 but is largely located in the areas of Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Grove, Westbourne Park and Kensal Road.
The parade circuit is approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 miles) long and loops around from Ladbroke Grove and ends around Westbourne Park.
What is the Notting Hill Carnival route?
The official parade makes its way through Notting Hill, North Kensington and Westbourne Green.
Along the way, it will pass along the river by Kensal Road, where lives stages and food stalls can be found, and a safety zone is usually located on the Westway.
Several First Aid points and communal toilets (think portaloos and urinals) are also dotted around the area, but toilets have been known to be an issue with celebrants over the years, given the large number of attendees at the event.
As a result, some residents in the area have been known to allow festival-goers access to toilets in their homes for a small fee. Find out more information about toilets at the Carnival here.
You can check the official Carnival website for full details and download the official app to see the Notting Hill Carnival map.
Where are the nearest tube stations to the carnival?
It’s worth noting that during the weekend of the Carnival, stations will likely be exit only and can become overly crowded.
The Tube stops close to the Carnival include:
Holland Park
Notting Hill Gate
Royal Oak
Westbourne Park
Ladbroke Grove
Buses may also be disrupted but extra services are usually put on.
How did Covid-19 affect the Notting Hill Carnival?
For the first time in its 54-year history, the Carnival was cancelled as a result of Covid-19 in 2020 until 2022.
At the time of its cancelation organisers said say ‘everyone’s health has to come first’.
Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said in a statement that the decision to cancel the festivities was made ‘after lengthy consultations with our strategic partners and our advisory council’.
NHS staff had previously stated that given the nature of the Carnival - which sees partygoers take up space in tightly-compacted areas - it would make it impossible to maintain social distancing, as outlined by the government at the time.
The Carnival’s cancelation came weeks after famous events such as Glastonbury 2022 and the Wimbledon Championships were called off. Both have since resumed.
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