Notting Hill Carnival in London

Every August, the streets of Notting Hill come alive with one of the world's largest and most spectacular West Indian carnivals, visited by millions of tourists who come particularly for the occasion. Thousands of people take part in the spectacular parade, with each group competing to construct the greatest floats, most extravagant costumes, and the hottest dance performances. Steel bands and West Indian music perform all day, and there is a variety of street cuisine available.

Carnival Sunday morning, still bleary-eyed after the excesses of yesterday night's warm-up parties, sound-system workers hook up their towering stacks of speakers while fragrant smoke wafts from the booths of early-bird jerk chicken chefs. Then a bass line trembles through the early air as the trains begin to disgorge hordes of revelers, all dressed up and waving their whistles and horns. Some others go directly for the sound systems, spending the entire day traveling from one to the next and stopping wherever the music takes them. Streets lined with mansion blocks transform into tunnels of sound, and all that can be seen is a moving sea of people leaping and blowing whistles as wave after wave of music ripples through the air.

The procession of costumed bands that weaves its way through the center of the festival, however, is the backbone of Carnival. As the mas (masquerade) bands cruise through, their revellers dance up a storm to the songs bouncing from the music trucks, Ladbroke Grove transforms into a seething swarm of floats and flags, sequins and feathers. And the only thing that counts for the next two days is the glorious, anarchic freedom of dancing in the streets of London.

Time: 27th – 29th August 2022
Website: https://nhcarnival.org/