Celebrate One of the City’s Greatest Events

What are you doing between the 29 August and 31 August? Do not say you are stuck at the house home cleaning when you are aware that an event as grand as the Notting Hill Carnival will embellish the streets of London! The end of summer is just around the corner, so stop wasting it and join the parade along with the million others that will celebrate one of the city’s greatest events. Throw that mop and duster aside, you can house clean another time, now is the time to see why so many people will be out on the street for a full weekend and spend many hours on a parade of colour and excitement.

The Notting Hill Carnival first appeared on London ground in 1964 as part of the Trinidad Carnival, and has kept its connection to the Caribbean Isles, showing the different nuances of London’s ethnics. During the time of the carnival, London becomes one of the most exotic places to be, with Caribbean dancers parading on the streets, vendors offering different island meals that are rarely tasted outside the city, and other performances brought by over 50,000 people and seen by a whole million over the weekend. And, best of all, the carnival is absolutely free to attend. Rotting at home will do nothing for you, but Notting Hill will be one of the highlights of your year if you find yourself attending the carnival.

What will you experience during the weekend of the Notting Hill Carnival? Here is the line-up:

Saturday
Start the journey into the exotic with the Panorama: an open-air concert happening at Emslie Horniman Pleasance Park, where steelbands will compete for your attention and adoration. Enjoy the different kinds of music, party with the rest of the attendees from 6pm until 10pm.

Sunday
If the music was not enough for you, then wait for the jiving that awaits you on Family Day when the J’Ouvert will take place. This is where the real parade will come in with its full force, with people – you are invited to do so as well! – dressed in the most outrageous outfits you will ever get to see in any city related to Great Britain kick off the day at 6am to roam the streets among more steelbands and marching African drummers. The Sunday Parade then comes at 10am till the evening to blow you away with even more music and attractions. Attend the many family workshops or take part of the costume competitions to win a prize for the most exotic or adventurous dress your imagination can think of.

Monday
Children’s Day holds the carnival’s main event and parade – the “World Music Stage”. Behold the calypso and soca performances by Calypsonians from all over the world, mixed with even more performances from various amazing artists that you may or may not have ever heard about. 38 sound systems will adorn the Notting Hill streets and bring the music to your life, taking it up to great volumes that only party-heads will appreciate. This day’s events will last from 10am to 8:30pm – a whole day of parading and excitement.

And if the carnival’s events are not enough for you, there will be after parties all around the streets after the official events end. People will have barely begun getting into their celebratory mood in the after parties, so attend the many Notting Hill pubs with numerous other people from the carnival and exchange opinions on the day’s events. And even outside the carnival, the streets will still have the amazing Caribbean food and drink vendors that will keep you sated and energetic for the duration of the weekend.

So, find yourself some comfortable shoes, because once the events start, it will be a while until you get to sit down, and start planning your Notting Hill Carnival weekend.