A Guide To Notting Hill Carnival 2024
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1 month ago
Everything you need to know about Europe's biggest street festival
Notting Hill Carnival is returning to the streets of London this August Bank Holiday Weekend. Here’s our guide to the eclectic three-day bonanza.
Notting Hill Carnival 2024: A Guide
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What Is Notting Hill Carnival?
Notting Hill Carnival is an annual celebration of London’s rich and vibrant Caribbean culture. The first celebration took place in 1966 after being organised by Notting Hill resident Rhaune Laslett as a way of integrating the diverse local community. Each year, the festival draws in huge crowds – on average two million revellers hit the streets of West London for the event. Expect colourful parades, floats and street parties, alongside copious amounts of Caribbean food and rum. And, of course, the music: everything from reggae to afro beats to soca, blasting from sound systems throughout the day.
Who Founded It?
Trinidadian journalist and activist Claudia Jones is often cited as the ‘mother of the Notting Hill Carnival’. In her capacity as editor of Black newspaper The West Indian Gazette, she helped to arrange the 1959 Caribbean Carnival at St Pancras Town Hall with Edric Connor in the wake of tense race relations and the UK’s first widespread racial attacks. But Rhaune Laslett, Russell Henderson, Duke Vin, Frank Crichlow and Leslie Palmer are all credited with shaping Notting Hill Carnival as we know it today, bringing sound systems, steel pans and sponsorship to the annual Carnival. Since around 1975, the Carnival has been an annual, high-profile celebration of Caribbean culture featuring steel pans galore, taking a two year hiatus in Covid.
When Is Notting Hill Carnival 2024?
The Carnival takes place annually over the August Bank Holiday weekend, this year from 24–26 August.
On Saturday, things kick off with a warm up from the UK National Panorama Steelband, which runs from 6pm to 11pm. This is then followed with two official Carnival days, with Sunday known as the family day, and Monday seen as the bigger day for party-goers. Festivities will kick off at 10am on Sunday and 12pm on Monday, and sound systems play across both days, with a 7pm noise curfew.
One crucial element of the party won’t be returning, though: the J’Ouvert. Usually kicking off at 6am on the Sunday of the Carnival, the J’Ouvert involves steel pan bands parding down the streets of west London, followed by an audience covering each other with paint and paint powder. While your mind might jump to the mess this creates, the official organisers of Notting Hill Carnival have blamed the cancellation on a lack of official bands being able to participate. Hopefully it will return next year. If you’re keen on getting covered in paint, the Dutty Mas event on Sunday afternoon will give you everything you’re looking for – with added chocolate to boot.
What Time Does Notting Hill Carnival Finish?
On Sunday and Monday, Notting Hill Carnival officially wraps up at 7pm due to a strict noise curfew. Notting Hill is, after all, a residential area.
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Where Does Notting Hill Carnival Take Place?
Celebrations spread across most of the W10 and W11 postcodes, including Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park.
How Many People Attend?
Every year, Notting Hill Carnival attracts around two million people, from local Londoners looking to party to tourists from overseas.
How To Get There
Travel is always disrupted over Carnival weekend, so check your route beforehand, and be aware that it’s going to be very busy. The Central Line will be open across the weekend, with local stations including Notting Hill Gate, Queensway and Holland Park, while the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines will be open for Westbourne Park and Latimer Road. Notting Hill Gate will be exit only from 11am to 7pm each day, and Royal Oak and Westbourne Park will be exit only from 11am to 6pm.
Guests are advised to avoid travelling by car as there will be lots of road closures over the weekend. Roads around Notting Hill are pedestrianised for the event, so you won’t be able to get buses or taxis in the heart of the action.
The Parade Route
The main parade begins near Westbourne Grove tube station, heading down Great Western Road, along Chepstow Road and onto Westbourne Grove before travelling down Ladbroke Grove.
Do I Need A Ticket?
No ticket needed – just show up and enjoy.
However, if you’d like to watch the UK National Panorama Steel Pan Band Competition on Saturday (4–11pm at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park, London W10 3DH), you will need a ticket. General Admission is £20pp (£7 for children) and can be booked here.
Top Tips
- Download the Notting Hill Carnival app, which contains all-important information about the many food stalls – including helpful pointers for vegan and vegetarians alongside where to get the best jerk chicken. There are also maps of the parade route, where to find loos, stages, sound systems and places to chill out.
- Plan ahead. There are often issues with phone signal due to the sheer volume of people in the area, so it’s a good idea to pick a meeting point beforehand in case anyone gets separated from your party.
- Wear comfortable shoes – you’ll be doing a lot of walking around and dancing.
- It’s set to be another warm weekend, so make sure you pack some sun cream!
Featured image: Glodi Miessi, Unsplash
