Notting Hill Carnival 2016: Parade details, family day, highlights and things to do

Make the best of the iconic west London weekend
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David Ellis @dvh_ellis26 August 2016

The Notting Hill carnival is celebrating its 50th birthday this Bank Holiday weekend.

More than two million Londoners are set to descend on west London, policed by 9,000 of the Met’s finest, to enjoy a weekend that celebrates Caribbean culture, music, food and drink. By the end of the weekend, London’s economy will be £93million for the richer, 15,000 costumes will have shimmied during the parade and a hangover-inducing 25,000 bottles of rum will have been polished off. It is a weekend of impressive numbers: only Rio has a bigger carnival and Notting Hill is the most popular street party in Europe. It’s come along way from its Trinidadian roots.

What to bring

Remember it's not a serious weekend, it's a carnival: come to have a good time and you most likely will. Still, it gets busy and sweaty, so being at least a little prepared helps.

  • Take a bottle of water to stay hydrated: lots of shops shut-up, and those which don’t sell out.
  • Pack napkins, hand sanitizer, or both: sticky hands makes for a sour afternoon.
  • A jumper, or a hoody: once the sun is done, it can get icy. An alcohol jacket only goes so far.

What's on

Saturday August 27

Things officially begin late on Saturday. Head down to Emslie Horniman Pleasance Park on Bosworth Road, where, from 6pm until 10pm, they’ll be hosting Panorama. It’s a free, family friendly, open-air evening of steel band performances.

The show must go on: rain won't damped the party mood
Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images

Sunday August 28 (Family Day)

The next morning, the early risers of Notting Hill will lead Jouvert from 6am. It’s the first parade of the carnival, with steel bands, riddim bands and African drummers. It begins and ends at Canal way in Ladbroke Grove, coming to a halt around 9am.

Sunday is the more family friendly day, with the highlight being the Children’s Parade, which has most of the costumes, Sound Systems and steel bands of its bigger sister on Monday. Things begin at 10am and run until around 8.30pm.

Over in Powis Square, the World Music Stage boasts calypso and soca performances from the Association of British Calypsonians.

Monday August 29

For anyone wanting the true carnival experience, head west on Monday, which features the main parade and grand finale. Food stands will be sizzling, Sound Systems will be blaring, dancers will be dancing and their costumes will be dazzling. The parade itself is 3.5 miles long, and follows the route in the map below, starting off at 10am and running until 8.30pm, though sometimes those in high spirits keep things rolling on later.

There are a number of after-parties, listed here.

As with Sunday, Powis Square will host the World Music Stage.

Across the weekend

Elsewhere, there are around 38 static Sound Systems. These are, arguably, the heart and soul of the Carnival, and some have been running almost forty years. These are where the parties really get going, but you’ll need to get to one before 3pm, when most become intolerably busy.

Otherwise, there are 10 steel pan bands ringing out throughout the two days, and 70 stages showcasing various talent from across London.

Notting Hill Carnival over the years - In pictures

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Food and drink

With more than 300 food stalls, you won’t go hungry. The perception of carnival food being all jerk chicken isn’t exactly true, but isn’t exactly untrue either: five tons of the stuff were shifted last year. Still, if you can, wander around – you’ll find curried goat, rice and peas, fried plantain (a must), spicy Jamaican patties and Caribbean dumplings.

Drinks wise, Red Stripe is naturally the go-to, and after than, rum. Guinness Punch is a must-try: despite the obvious Irish heritage, it’s stuff of carnival legend: Guiness packed full of spice, and sometimes milk, and sometimes rum.

Coconut water is hard to beat for refreshment, and there’s a certain novelty to carrying around a coconut with a straw in it.

Parties

There are plenty of parties on across London cashing in on the Notting Hill theme. The Hip Hop Karaoke Carnival Special at Camden’s recently refurbished Jazz Cafe gets our vote for the Sunday evening, to warm up for the celebrations on Monday, and if you're looking for an after party, have a read of these picks.

For more information, visit thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com

London Live (Freeview 8, YouView 8, Sky 117 and Virgin 159) will be live from Notting Hill on Sunday August 28 and Monday August 29, 4-6pm.

Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

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