Your Guide to Notting Hill Carnival 2024: Music, Dance & More
Notting Hill Carnival 2024 promises to be another exciting edition of the legendary Caribbean festival, taking place as it does every year on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
It’s such a thrilling time of year, one of the biggest events on the calendar, so if you are studying in London, visiting friends there over the summer, or you’re a London native, there are loads of things to do and see during the carnival weekend.
We’re always happy to help you out with things to do and events that are on in London for you to enjoy, and with this guide to the Notting Hill Carnival, you can mark it boldly in your calendar and go experience one of the most colourful festivals anywhere in the UK.
What is Notting Hill Carnival?
It is a massive, free street festival that celebrates the heritage of the Caribbean community in London. It is the biggest street festival in Europe and only the second largest behind the Rio Carnival when talking about world street festivals. London’s streets will be thronging with big sound systems, great performers and street artists, delicious food and a party atmosphere in West London.
The history of the Notting Hill Carnival
The first edition of the Notting Hill Carnival took place in 1066, a celebration of the vibrant Caribbean islands and the communities that were then thriving in London. It celebrates the heritage, music, food, and traditions of the Caribbean islands.
It started as a small event on a local scale, organised by the West Indian communities of London, but has since mushroomed into what is now the largest street festival in Europe and people travel from all over the world to party over the weekend.
When the first carnival took place there were over 30,000 people from the Caribbean living in the UK, with this number growing to huge numbers by the time the Notting Hill Carnival was welcoming over 100,000 people in 1974.
Stages were introduced in 1979 so that the reggae and punk bands of the time could perform to the crowds, with dub, ska, and traditional calypso being heard throughout the streets. These days, over 2 million people come to the streets to celebrate the festival.
When is Notting Hill Carnival?
Notting Hill Carnival 2024 takes place over the course of the August Bank Holiday, as it does every year. This year the official main action takes place on Sunday 25th August and Monday 26th August, which is when the parade will take place, but there is also an extra event on Saturday 24th August, with the Panorama Steel Band Competition, an unofficial warm-up to the festival proper but a great event in its own right.
What is the parade route of the Notting Hill Carnival?
Although the main action takes place in Notting Hill (as you’d expect from the name of the carnival), there is also some action on the streets of Bayswater, Westbourne Grove Westbourne Park, and Ladbroke Grove.
The streets are pedestrianised for much of the area and the weekend, allowing for large numbers and big crowds to safely take part in and follow the parade, enjoy the music, follow the smell of tasty street food and just have a great big party.
The route of the parade is around three miles long, beginning near Westbourne Park, down to Westbourne Grove and heading back up towards Ladbroke Grove. The official website has a lot of information to help visitors, including a Notting Hill Carnival map, so you know exactly where and when to be.
How much does it cost to attend the Notting Hill Carnival?
It is absolutely free to attend the carnival (apart from the ticketed competition event on the Saturday). If you want to spend some money, you can do, as there are over 300 stalls selling street food and drink along the parade route, but there is no obligation to spend any money over the weekend. People bring their own food and drink as groups of friends make that part of the experience.
Mas bands
At the very heart of the carnival are the colourful and exciting Mas bands, or Masquerade bands. These are made up of people wrapped up in the most colourful costumes, dancing through to thumping music as they parade through the streets.
If you are going to Notting Hill you’ll see loads of Mas bands throughout the weekend, and bands can include up to 300 people, a real treat to witness and experience this!
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Family day
Sunday at Notting Hill Carnival is known as Family Day or Children’s Day. The whole day is focused on families and children to celebrate the carnival, and there is an extensive range of family-friendly activities, including the children’s Mas, which is a truly joyous occasion.
The carnival spirit starts young, and seeing all the kids and young people dancing through the streets in their costumes and being direct participants in the Mas bands is great.
Food and drink
With over 300 food and drink stalls throughout the festival route, there’s plenty to enjoy, with mostly Caribbean cuisine on offer, such as jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, curried goat, and the like. There’s also plenty of veggie and vegan options.
Travel to Notting Hill Carnival
The tube lines usually remain fully functioning during the weekend, with the Central line stations of Queensway, Notting Hill Gate and Holland Park, the Circle and Hammersmith & City line stations of Westbourne Park, Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Road all within walking distance of the carnival.
Always remember that any of these stations could be closed for temporary overcrowding at any time, so be aware and plan ahead so you are not caught out. As many of the roads in the area are closed for the weekend it isn’t as easy to get the bus to and from the festivities.
Are you all geared up for a summer of fun in London? The weather might not have been as hot and sunny as we would have hoped, but that’s the British summer for you!
Come rain or shine, Notting Hill Carnival is a sensation of the senses, giving you all the music, dancing, performance, food and just good times that you could imagine over the course of the bank holiday weekend in August.
If you’ve been to the festival before, let us know your own personal favourite aspects of the weekend and what to look out for.
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