It’s that time of year again! Notting Hill Carnival is about the take over the streets of West London in the way that only Notting Hill Carnival can. Celebrating everything from traditional to contemporary Caribbean culture, sound systems to steel-pan music, and food you simply can’t find elsewhere, the weekend-long event is topped off by an electrifying parade.
Wondering how you’ll spend Notting Hill Carnival 2024? Here’s a guide to the competitions, the choreographed dances, the children’s parade and all points in between…
Food and drink at Notting Hill Carnival
“Spoilt for choice” would be putting it lightly when it comes to the food and drink options at Notting Hill Carnival – and 2024 will be no exception. Stalls line the streets, offering dishes from every branch of Caribbean cuisine you could think of.
It’s not Notting Hill Carnival without Jamaican jerk chicken and Trinidadian rotis, and if you happen to pass a JerkPit stall, we guarantee that famous scent will draw you in. Here are a few places you may want to keep an eye out for this bank holiday weekend.
Wingz “N” Datt
For those who need that jerk chicken fix, Wingz “N” Datt won’t let you down. These guys begin preparing for Notting Hill Carnival a month in advance, and will have you talking about their authentic homemade sauces for years to come.
Instagram: @wingzndatt
Sunvalley Jerk
Eat like the stars at Sunvalley Jerk’s famous food truck, a frequent caterer to footballers, musicians and influencers. They boast enough food to feed 3,000 mouths, and you won’t regret making yours one of them.
Instagram: @sunvalleyjerk
Curtis Caribbean
Veterans of Notting Hill Carnival, Curtis Caribbean take the best of their Hornsey shop to the streets. Famed for their jerk chicken and curried goat with rice and peas, they’ve been a friend to the famished since 2016.
Instagram: @curtis_cakes
Crazy Caribbean
Returning to Notting Hill Carnival for the second time, Crazy Caribbean are already favourites among foodies, thanks inno small part to their Jamaican tacos, which come in boneless sticky jerk or boneless curried goat varieties – guacamole and coconut shavings optional.
Instagram: @crazycaribbean
Panorama: steel pan competition (Saturday, August 24)
Although it’s not the official launch event, Notting Hill Carnival effectively opens with Panorama, the largest steel-pan competition outside of the Caribbean. Sheet music is strictly prohibited for this hotly anticipated battle, which this year will see six steel-pan ensembles face off against each other in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park.
Panorama’s entrants have been rehearsing all year for their ten-minute slots. The competition kicks off at 4pm and wraps at midnight, with the winners receiving a share of the money raised from ticket sales. As well as the competition, there will be DJs, food stalls and bars, making Panorama a truly widescreen celebration of Caribbean culture.
Last year’s champions, Ebony Steelband, hold a record number of Panorama wins, at 23. Can they pull it off again, or will one of their 2024 challengers – Croydon Steel Orchestra, Mangrove Steelband, Metronomes Steel Orchestra, Real Steel and Southside Harmonics – pull off a coup and come away victorious?
Book your tickets here (£7 each) and find out as it happens!
Parades at Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival is a three-day affair, but its two parades are what draw the biggest crowds. As with every year, 2024 has something for all ages.
Children’s Day Parade (Sunday, 25 August)
The Children’s Day Parade takes to the streets on Sunday, 25 August, following Notting Hill Carnival’s official opening ceremony. As with the adults’ parade, things kick off with a mas (short for “masquerade”) judging panel, with prizes going to the best costumes, and then the festivities commence, with children carrying the carnival baton along the carnival route.
Sunday’s Fun Mas, also known as “Dutty Mas”, is all about embracing the mayhem. Throughout, spectators and performers alike will be splashed with coloured paints and powders – and, at times, even melted chocolate. It’s tradition, after all!
The kids won’t be missing out on Notting Hill Carnival’s famed sound systems: Sunday gets its own dedicated programme, where participants of all ages can hear everything from rare-groove jams to house and samba music.
Main Parade (Monday, 26 August)
The shiniest jewel among Notting Hill Carnival’s glittering wares, the Main Parade is where things erupt in truly elaborate fashion.
More than 50 mas bands have been carefully crafting their costumes all year round for this moment, and while they dazzle crowds of spectators on the parade route, they’re also being scrutinised by a judging panel. At the heart of Notting Hill Carnival is a competition celebrating the diverse costuming and performance skills of each band, whose artful ensembles reflect unique themes. Carnival officials will make their final decision at the judging point on Great Western Road, and the winners will be announced on social media.
Speaking to Dig!, Denis George, owner and bandleader of mas band Hotwax, explains that it took his team two months to create the band’s costumes, which this year are inspired by Grenada’s annual carnival, known as Spicemas. “This happens to be the heritage of most of our team,” he says. “As 2024 is Grenada’s 50th year of independence, we thought it would be fitting to celebrate our heritage with an ode to the country’s traditions.”
Reflecting on his most memorable carnival moment, George says that each year brings its own highs: “Every time, after no sleep and working around the clock, we finally step on the road for carnival and see all our creations come to life.
“It was especially prominent last year,” he adds, “as the band went through an administration change, and with everything going on we pulled it together and took first place to become the small-band winners for 2023. We’d won before, but this one meant something extra special.”
Music on the road: from sound systems to Brazillian bands
You can come for the food, the costumes and the competitions, but music is at the heart of Notting Hill Carnival.
Since 1966, the festival has become famed for its sounds as much for its sights, with soca, calypso, steel bands and sound systems all performing along the parade route, ensuring that the UK’s largest street party ripples with culture. There’s a little something for everyone, but the sound systems and Brazilian bands are our must-sees.
Sound systems
Keeping feet moving all weekend long, there are more than 30 static sound-systems scattered along the Notting Hill Carnival route. Follow the floats and experience them all, or park yourself near the one with the biggest tunes, and soak up everything from reggae to dub, rare groove, jungle, hip-hop and more.
Keith Franklin, of KCC And The Rockin Crew, first attended Notting Hill Carnival as a ten-year-old boy, and he spoke to us about how important sound systems are to keeping spirits high throughout the weekend:
“My father took me to Notting Hill Carnival. Even though I was growing up in a West Indian family, it was the first time I experienced the full Caribbean experience: the food, the music and the sound systems.
“Sound systems were everywhere, and music was everywhere. People played music from their front doors and windows.”
With sound-system culture having gone global, Franklin acknowledges that carnival sound systems now have to make themselves heard beyond West London. “Sound systems exist on every continent across the world, and they play a major role in dance music culture,” he says. “Thanks to technological change, we have all had to raise our game on every level.”
Brazilian bands
The first appearance of a Brazilian band at Notting Hill Carnival was in 1984, when London School Of Samba gave revellers a crash course in Brazil’s national dance. Offering a thrilling mix of synchronised live drumming complete with energetic choreography, the carnival’s Brazilian bands have become one of the most popular features of every Notting Hill Carnival weekend.
