Notting Hill Carnival 2015

If you´ve ever been to a carnival, you´ll understand the beauty and excitement each and every moment brings. From dawn till dusk you´ll find mystical costumer designs, music that´ll have your hips swaying and mouthwatering food that´ll have you stick around for hours to come!

Popularly known as the Notting Hill Carnival, this is the biggest festival Europe has to showcase. With its Caribbean vibe, you would be crazy not to join in with the festivities!

First held in 1964 as a part of the Trinidad Festival,   the Carnival sticks to its original Caribbean root. Bringing a strong and vibrant spring of diversity to the streets of London. And of course, everyone is invited!

With the first ever Carnival bringing forth only a mere 500 spectators; today you will find hundreds of thousands enjoying the cultural festivities, with figures that are continuously growing. It´s no doubt this is both a popular and most desired event!

You will find more than 50,000 performers throughout the 3 day weekend, with 38 sound systems located alongside the Notting Hill Carnival Route. Don´t be surprised when you see more than 1million spectators attending this magical explosion of imagination, design and colour!

To kickstart the Notting Hill festivities, here is a rundown of the events occurring over the course of the 3 day weekend:

Saturday 29^th

The Notting Hill Carnival 2015 will be welcomed with the free open-air concert Panorama; a steel-band competition.

Emslie Horniman Pleasance Park, 6-10pm

Sunday 30^th

Now this is the Family Day portion. What is Carnival without the comedic family moments coming into play? This day will have you on your toes dancing to the rhythm and your hips all a-swaying! Start the day by heading to Jouvert; you´ll find drummers, steel bands, wonderful street food and much more!

The procession starts and ends in Canal way, Ladbroke Grove W14; 6am and lasts until 9am.

From thereon, it´s time for the Children’s parade! Look out for the gorgeously flamboyant costumes as they dance along the route and showcase their passion and fashionable tastes for carnival! And this is only the start. Welcome a wonderful display of vocals on the “World Stage Music” at Powis Square, where you will find calypso and soca performances by the Association of the British Calypsonians. Don´t be surprised if you´re stunned by the emerging artists!

A jubilant Children Parade as they showcase their flamboyant costumes dancing along the carnival route to the hypnotic rhythms provided by the mobile sound systems or steel bands.

Monday 31^st – Bank Holiday Monday

Now this here is the Grand Finale to a most memorable, pleasant and downright exciting weekend! The Final will entice you in with a show of vibrant colours, as a total of 60 bands cast you into a renaissance of rhythm. This is the perfect time to experience the magnificent glory the Carnival has to offer. Try the various different styles of food available, music that´ll be both soothing and pleasant to the ears and the feet and the many activities around that you could sink your teeth into.

From 10am to 8.30pm

 

With such a popular and diverse event, there´s no reason why you should not go along to this years Carnival! But be sure to take along a Notting Hill Carnival map if you want to be sure to catch al the sights and take part in the glorious procession. If you´re anything like us, you´ll soon be swayed away by the smell of delicious cuisine and will need to find a way to catch up with the parade!

The best way to get to this event from your apartment in London is to take the Notting Hill Gate exit via metro. But be sure to get there early to avoid the London traffic! Everyone will be heading your way!