Dance, music and masquerade. This is what London will witness during the bank holiday weekend at the Notting Hill Carnival.
The Notting Hill Carnival is taking place on 25th and 26th August in London. The annual festival was started in 1964 by the Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their own cultures and tradition. This year will be the 49th carnival.
Largest street festival in Europe.
The Notting Hill Carnival is the second largest carnival in the world after the Rio de Janeiro carnival. The carnival is a true chance to witness the diversity of London with its vibrancy and zest.
The parade
The parade is the carnival procession that begins at 9 am on Sunday and Monday. Sunday is carnival’s children’s day with a shorter parade and chances to win prizes. The main parade is on Monday. The carnival after-parties will begin once the parade has finished and the floats leave the area.
The Afro-Caribbean specialities
Jerk Chicken
There are several stalls serving traditional Caribbean food and drink like the jerk chicken or pork with rice and peas, curried goat, fried plantain, Jamaican patties, Red Stripe lager, coconut water, rum punch.
There will be traditional and contemporary sounds in the air right from Reggae, Steel Pan, Calypso and R&B to Soca, House, Funk and many more.
Useful tips
- Leave you car at home. Many tube stations will either be closed or have time restrictions. The best modes of transport are your legs.
- The area will be crowded. Thieves will make hay while the sun shines so keep valuables at home.
- The streets and footpath will be overflowing with people so do not carry heavy luggage and buggies.
- Due to overcrowding, mobile phone networks can get jammed.
- Carry cash, as food stalls don’t accept cards. Getting to a cash point in the crowd can be a pain and some cash points do run out of money.
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