L O N D O N E R S !
Notting Hill Carnival is held every summer in West London. Celebrating London's rich, varied and magnificent multicultural past and present, it is now the biggest street party in Europe. And for any party lovers, the Carnival weekend is a vital date in the calendar.
The Carnival is still proudly a community-led event, and its popularity is ever-increasing. Close to 1 million people attend the Carnival and in 2006, the UK voted to add the Notting Hill Carnival to the famous list of icons of England.
The Carnival takes place over 2 days and features a parade with dancers and fantastic live music, including reggae, dub and salsa. There are over 30 static sound systems, soca floats, steel bands and a whole lot of delicious Caribbean food like seasoned jerk chicken, callaloo, and traditional goat stew. Many Caribbean foods have roots from cuisines native to Europe, America, China, and Africa.
The Caribbean is a favourite vacation destination and comprises many islands that are all part of a huge archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. These tropical, beautiful islands were the contention of many European countries who each wanted ownership of a part of this gorgeous region. The English acquired St. Kiss, Barbados, Antigua, and other islands in the 17th century. It's common for many peoples of the Caribbean islands to reside in England.
The first mention of a Caribbean celebration was in 1959 when a carnival was held at St. Pancras Town Hall in London to settle down the race relations between indigenous British residents and Caribbean natives. Trinidadian, Claudia Jones, is known as "the mother of the Notting Hill Carnival" for her promotion of this first carnival in The West Indian Gazette, a black motif newspaper. As the editor of the newspaper, Jones featured the fantastical performances of the Mighty Terror singing the calypso and a Caribbean Carnival Queen beauty contest.
This year the dates of the festivities are Sun 25th - Mon 26th August with more celebrations on the eve of the Carnival on the 24th. The Carnival spreads throughout W10 and W11 in West London, taking over the areas of Notting Hill (of course), Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park. The main parade begins on Great Western Road, moving its way along Chepstow Road, before leading on to Westbourne Grove. It then travels down Ladbroke Grove. Traditionally, every year the Carnival takes place on the bank holiday at the end of the month.
Are you in the festival spirit now?
Enjoy all that this vibrant and wonderfully diverse event has to offer!
IMM Team x
