The Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival 2010

Held each August Bank Holiday since 1966, the Notting Hill Carnival is the largest festival celebration of its kind in Europe. Every year the streets of West London come alive, with the sounds and smells of Europe's biggest street festival. Twenty miles of vibrant colourful costumes surround over 40 static sound systems, hundreds of Caribbean food stalls, over 40,000 volunteers and over 1 million Notting Hill carnival revellers.

Starting its life as a local festival set up by the West Indian community of the Notting Hill area, it has now become a full-blooded Caribbean carnival, attracting millions of visitors from all over the globe. With many astonishing floats and the sounds of the traditional steel drum bands, scores of massive sound systems plus not forgetting the hundreds of stalls that line the streets of Notting Hill. The Notting Hill Carnival is arguably London's most exciting annual event.

The Notting Hill Carnival usually gets under way on the Saturday with the steel band competition. Sunday is Kids' Day, when the costume prizes are awarded. On Bank Holiday Monday, the main parade takes place. It generally begins on Great Western Road, then winds its way along Chepstow Road, on to Westbourne Grove, and then Ladbroke Grove. In the evening, the floats leave the streets in procession, and people carry continue partying at the many Notting Hill Carnival after parties.

The Notting Hill Carnival dates for 2010 are August 29th and 30th. Our Brighton's based band " Maracatu Cruzeiro do sul" will be parading this year with the London's "Maracatu Estrela do Norte", that is an amazing opportunity to see these two bands jamming together in the biggest Carnival party of Europe.

If you are looking to have a stall at the Notting Hill Carnival, you will need to apply for a trading licence. Find out more on our links page