With its colourful street parades, renowned sound systems and endless street dancing, Notting Hill Carnival is the biggest street party of Europe and the highlight of the August bank holiday weekend.
The joyful celebration has a meaningful purpose that is not always appreciated. The yearly event that takes to the streets of Notting Hill is deeply rooted in Caribbean traditions. Its significance to the communities that have settled in the West London areas in the 1950s explains its longevity.
Today, Notting Hill Carnival is famous as the largest street party in Europe, with 2 million visitors each year.

On Carnival Sunday, it showcases a children’s parade and also J’ouvert and Fun Mas. The latter are cathartic street events that characterise the excesses and impersonations of carnival.
Revellers participating in the Fun Mas throw paint, powder or even chocolate at one another.
On Carnival Monday, over 70 masquerades parade on the streets. On both days, watchers and revellers come from all over the world to listen to sound systems, steel pan orchestras and immerse themselves in this fantastic, liberating atmosphere.