Notting Hill Carnival
| Notting Hill Carnival | |
|---|---|
Mas dancer, Notting Hill Carnival 2018 | |
| Genre | Carnival |
| Frequency | Annually – August Bank Holiday weekend |
| Locations | Ladbroke Grove, London, England |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Founders | Claudia Jones, Sam King, Rhaune Laslett, Leslie Palmer, Duke Vin |
| Most recent | 23 August 2025 – 25 August 2025 |
| Next event | 29 August 2026 – 31 August 2026 |
| Attendance | 2 million attendees, 40,000 volunteers and 9,000 police |
| Website | nhcarnival |
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966 on the streets of the Notting Hill area of Kensington, over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
It is led by members of the British Caribbean community, and attracts around two million people annually, making it one of the world's largest street festivals, the largest in Europe, and a significant event in British African Caribbean and British Indo-Caribbean culture. In 2006, the UK public voted the Notting Hill Carnival onto a list of icons of England.
Carnival traditionally commences on the Saturday with Panorama, a competition between steelpan bands. Sunday is designated family and children's day, with a shorter parade route for young people. The main adult parade takes place on Monday. Notting Hill Carnival represents the "five disciplines of carnival": masquerade, calypso, soca, steelpan, and sound systems.