Notting Hill Carnival
In and around Notting Hill Gate AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND Free
Notting Hill Carnival has been running since 1966 and is known for being Europe's biggest street festival. It's a celebration of multiculturalism, diversity and liberty. It is known amongst Londoners for it's vivid colour, energy and... well... disruption.
A mix of reggae, funk and dub is the soundtrack of streets in and around Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park. There's a parade of floats which runs through the streets from the morning and an abundance of different delicious street food to choose from.
The best way to do Carnival is with a small group. I attended Notting Hill Carnival in 2009 with a massive group (massive mistake), ended up losing 90% of the party and even wandering around on my own for a bit. In both 2015 and 2016 I returned with just 3/4 other people, which was both much more manageable and enjoyable.
Seeing as it is a street festival, you do not have the problem of drinks prices - that is if you are willing to carry yours around for the whole day. There are a few guys dotted around selling tinnies for around £2 if you don't want to BYOB. However, given that it's a street festival there is also one major problem: where do I wee? It's kind of an adventure - lots of people's front gardens, a basement flat of some well dressed strangers, a man even charged me £1 to go for a wee on his doorstep the last time I went.
Carnival is fun, but it is also PACKED. There are up to 2 million attendees every year, along with 40,000 volunteers and 9,000 police. Shops have to be boarded up and people who live in the surrounding areas either pack up and leave for the weekend or shiftily watch over their houses, trying to ignore the tin can being lobbed at the window or the overwhelming stench of urine on their potted plants. You can kind of sympathise... just a little.
I have very mixed feelings about Notting Hill Carnival - whilst I admire the effort and energy which go into putting it on I can't help but feel that over the years the reasons behind it have become lost.
Carnival is not supposed to be an act of rebellion, however for some this is what it has become. In 2009 I was 15 and I remember hearing a loud bang and then a stampede of people running in the opposite direction, I ran with them and then decided to call it a day after finding out someone had been shot a block away from where I was. Usually these crimes are motivated and the average joe attending carnival needn't worry, it is also supposed to be a family event, meaning this isn't one big place to get smashed - there's a huge mix of people who attend.
My overall thoughts on Carnival are if you haven't been before, definitely go. It's an experience and it has so much history behind it. Take a rucksack, bring some booze, some tissues and be prepared for a lot of walking, a lot of pushing, some questionable weeing settings, but also, if gone into with the right attitude, a lot of fun.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://www.thelondonnottinghillcarnival.com/
