Notting Hill, one of the landmark events on the London calendar, takes place this weekend.
The festival started in 1966 and has taken place every year since – minus two years over the Covid pandemic. But for the past few years it has been back, drawing in record attendence.
Notting Hill Carnival over the years – In pictures
What is the Notting Hill Carnival?
Attendance at Carnival can easily reach one million people
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Notting Hill Carnival is a free street festival, that celebrates the UK’s Caribbean community. It’s Europe’s biggest street festival, as well as the world’s second-largest carnival, after Rio’s extravaganza.
Each year, the festival brings beats, lashings of jerk chicken, eclectic, colourful and exciting costumes, as well as an utterly fabulous parade.
When is the Notting Hill Carnival 2025?
Glastonbury has hosted its first Notting Hill Carnival
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TThe carnival takes place each August over two days: the August bank holiday Monday and the preceding Sunday. This year, the event will be held on August 24-25, with a steel band competition on August 23.
What are the timings for the Notting Hill Carnival?
On Saturday, August 23, the UK National Panorama Steel Band Competition is taking place between 4pm and 11pm.
The carnival begans at 6am on Sunday, August 24, with the official opening ceremony taking place at 10am. The Adult’s Parade begins at 10.30am on Monday, August 25.
The Notting Hill Carnival ends at 7pm on Sunday and Monday, when the music stops because of a noise curfew as it takes place in a residential area.
Once the music cuts out at 7pm, you can either head home or go to an afterparty.
Where is the Notting Hill Carnival 2025 and what’s the route?
The Carnival parade route is about three and a half miles long
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The carnival takes place in Notting Hill but it also spills into the streets of Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Park, Westbourne Grove and Bayswater.
The main parade route for Notting Hill Carnival starts near Westbourne Grove tube station at 9.30am, and it travels down Great Western Road before slowly winding its way to Westbourne Grove and then heading up Ladbroke Grove.
The parade is approximately three and a half miles long and it takes over most of W10. If you have a smartphone, you can track the parade on the Notting Hill Carnival app, which is available on Apple and Android.
The UK National Panorama Steel Band Competition takes place in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park.
There will be live stages in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park on the Sunday and Monday, as well as in Powis Square.
How do I get to the Notting Hill Carnival 2025?
Download the Notting Hill Carnival app to keep track of what is going on
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It’s important to remember that the Tube will be busy and the streets packed. The Central line will be open the whole weekend for Queensway, Notting Hill Gate and Holland Park, and the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines will be serving Westbourne Park, Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Road.
Streets around Notting Hill will all be pedestrianised, so buses will be rerouted and could terminate earlier than usual.
What is the Notting Hill Carnival 2025’s schedule?
This year’s carnival begins with the Panorama Steelpan competition, featuring the first Junior Panorama, shining a light on a new generation of musical talent.
You need to buy a ticket for the event, which you can purchase here.
The festivities on Sunday and Monday are free to all, but Sunday is for families and children and Monday is for adults. Sound systems will be blasting all sorts of Jamaican music, from Rare Groove to Hourse to Samba.
On Sunday, there will be a range of family-friendly events and activities. In the Fun Mas, you can expect to be splashed with brightly coloured paints, powder and melted ‘chocolate.’
There will be a 72 second silence at 3pm on both Sunday and Monday to remember the 72 lives lost in the Grenfell Tower.
Is Notting Hill Carnival free to attend?
Notting Hill Carnival is free for anyone to attend and everyone is welcome.
The steel band competition is ticketed. General admission is £21.56, a ticket for children over five costs £7.55 and under fives go free.
Can you bring food and drink to Notting Hill Carnival?
You’re welcome to bring your own food and drinks (no glass though). But if you’d rather see what the carnival itself has to offer, you’re in the best place as there are around 250 food stalls to choose from, serving up jerk chicken, patties and more. Notting Hill is also home to an array of restaurants, so you’ll never be stuck for choice.
Live Facial Recognition (LFR) at Carnival this year
Although cameras won’t be positioned inside the actual grounds, it will employ facial recognition technology on the routes to and from the event this year.
Using the cameras, officers will be able to identify people who are wanted by the police, missing people who could be exploited, and people who are under orders to avoid sexual harm
Concerned about “racial bias” civil rights and anti-racism organisations have urged Met Police to drop their intentions to use LFR.
11 organisations, including Liberty, Big Brother Watch, and the Runnymede Trust, wrote to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, characterising LFR as “mass surveillance” that “treats all Carnival-goers as potential suspects.”