Panorama – Saturday 24 August
NHC Children’s Day – Sunday 25 August
NHC Main Parade – Monday 26 August
Matthew Phillip, CEO Notting Hill Carnival Ltd
“a living, breathing showcase of how immigration has transformed the UK into a global cultural powerhouse.”
New partnerships…
Tate Britain’s Big Weekender – 3 & 4 August
Carnival Conversations Series starts 7 August
Carnival Culture In The Park returns to Holland Park – 14 – 17 August
Red Bull & Strawberries & Cream return to Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park on Carnival Sunday and Monday respectively
Karnaval (With Love): A Global Tapestry of Music and Joyous Rebellion LA Seine Musicale, Île Seguin, Paris – 27 & 28 September
The official Notting Hill Carnival Map by Trippin – Sign up for early access here
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The world’s second biggest carnival and Europe’s largest street event, Notting Hill Carnival is one of the most important cultural events in the British calendar. A celebration of unity, pride and togetherness, its foundations and the very essence of why Notting Hill Carnival exists was to bring a community together, combat racial tensions and stand up for what is right no matter who you are or where you are from!
Matthew Phillip, CEO of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd. “Notting Hill Carnival is a vibrant testament to the power of unity and the celebration of our shared humanity. It is a festival that breaks down barriers, builds bridges and showcases the very best of our multicultural society.
“For generations, the UK has been energised and enriched by the contributions of those who have chosen to make this country their home. From the Windrush generation to the present day, immigrants have been the lifeblood of our economy, the backbone of our public services, and the spark for our cultural renaissance.
“Notting Hill Carnival was born from the Caribbean community’s desire to combat racial tensions and celebrate their heritage, it has grown into a beloved national institution that attracts millions of visitors from across the globe. It stands as a powerful reminder of how diversity strengthens our society and fuels our creativity.”
August bank holiday weekend will once again bring West London to life and become a sensory explosion of colour and music alongside the glorious tastes and smell of barbecued food. This is all made possible by a dedicated community built up of ten-of-thousands of volunteers, artists, musicians, chefs and designers dedicated to their art, the freedom of expression and the right to celebrate their culture.
Notting Hill Carnival Weekend
On the evening of Saturday 24 August is The UK National Panorama Competition – the most important Steel Pan competition of the year. With five bands competing, they play original compositions to a panel of expert judges before the champion is crowned. With some bands consisting of over 100 members, it is an evening of truly spectacular and unique percussion. Panorama takes place at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park and tickets will be on sale next week, keep an eye on nhcarnival.org and our social media for more details (NHCarnivalLDN).
Sunday 25 August starts before sunrise with J’Ouvert and the Childrens day parade officially opens at 10.30am. On Monday 26 August the full Carnival community takes to the streets in their colour and splendour, displaying their hand-made costumes that represent a year of communities coming together to celebrate Caribbean culture.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Notting Hill Carnival started life as a small community-led celebration of Caribbean history and culture and has become Europe’s biggest street festival, attracting millions of people from all backgrounds to west London and showing why London is the greatest city in the world.
“With live music, delicious street food, vibrant costumes and fantastic parades, it’s a tribute to the huge impact London’s Caribbean community has had on our capital.
“The event organisers, along with our brilliant emergency services and other partners, will be working hard over the entire weekend to ensure a safe, successful carnival, as we continue to work to build better London for everyone.”
Carnival’s Partnership & Events
This year Notting Hill Carnival is in partnership with a number of other globally renowned cultural institutions. Already this year, over 100 carnivalists returned to Glastonbury Festival to become part of the brand new Terminal 1 area – a repurposed airport celebrating migration that is emblazoned with the old sign from Heathrow’s Terminal 1. The area was full of art, music and performances from all over the world and required anyone wanting to enter to answer a question from the British citizenship test or they would be turned away… Notting Hill Carnival fitted in perfectly and is extremely proud to be part of it – see NME’s synopsis here and The Guardian’s article for more information.
Red Bull are back in a brand-new way, Red Bull Selector will put the audience at the heart of the action like never before and will host their brand-new music stage. Bringing the energy to Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park on bank holiday Sunday, the one-of-a-kind non-ticketed event promises to be more than just a live show. Red Bull Selector will give power to the people, letting them shape the DJ set through interactive voting moments.
Flipping the ‘no requests’ rule on its head, the show will allow for a shared musical journey between the carnival crowd and the DJ. A soundtrack selected by the people, for the people, with a concept that honours the very foundations of why Notting Hill Carnival exists – unity and togetherness. The soon-to-be-announced all day artist lineup will feature global heavyweights, celebrated Carnival legends alongside the most exciting names in UK music www.redbull.co.uk/selector.
Following Red Bull, Strawberries & Creem (S&C) are taking over the iconic stage on Carnival Monday (26th August) – their first public event in London for five years with a yet-to-be-disclosed lineup of special guests, Strawberries & Creem festival was last held in Cambridge in 2021 and 2022 – featuring performances from Burna Boy, Little Simz, Giggs, Central Cee and Mabel, plus collaborations with Notting Hill Carnival. S&C celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, with further London shows planned.
The official Trippin Notting Hill Carnival Map returns for a second year. This summer the travel platform is bringing back the official Carnival map to help you navigate your carnival weekend.
This must-have Carnival essential features pin drops of every sound system, stage and cultural site at Notting Hill Carnival as well as safer spaces. Each pin tells the story behind its location, system or stage and lists the genres you can expect to hear in the area. What’s more, as we know the signal is limited at Carnival but it can access the map in offline mode – sign up here – https://trippin.world/PAGE/early-access-official-2024-notting-hill-carnival-map.
Tate Britain is hosting the Big Weekender on Saturday 3 August and Sunday 4 August that has been inspired by Alvaro Barrington’s Grace commission. A free event, it will be the perfect way to kick off Carnival month with workshops, mas performances, Sound Systems, great traditional food and much more – Check out Tate.org.uk for more information.
Mark Miller, Director of Learning, Tate, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Notting Hill Carnival for our Big Weekender event in August, celebrating Alvaro Barrington’s Grace commission at Tate Britain. We want to authentically honour carnival arts and Caribbean culture, heritage, food, and dancing – and partnering with Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s greatest community-led events, is essential to this celebration. We look forward to welcoming sound systems, steelpan bands, Brazilian bands and mas performers to Tate Britain for a warm up to carnival in August – everyone is welcome.”
From 14 – 17 August Carnival Culture In The Park returns to Opera Holland Park. With more information to be announced soon, the event is spread over four glorious nights where you will be able to watch the very best in Brazilian, Pan Jazz, calypso, mas and more. Keep an eye on NHCarnival.org and our social media for more details (NHCarnivalLDN).
Carnival Conversations is set to launch on 7 August and will run through to October, culminating in a grand finale for Black History Month. This engaging series of panel discussions will delve into the rich culture of Carnival, featuring phenomenal leaders from the music industry, organisers, sound systems, and more. This will be an exciting journey through Carnival history, celebrating its vibrant legacy and influential figures over four captivating months.
On Friday, 27 September, and Saturday, 28 September, there will be the first-ever KARNAVAL (With Love) at La Seine Musicale in Paris. This celebration will enhance the historic richness of Sound System culture and the vibrant spectacle of global Black and Brown Carnivals from around the world with live music – Kalash Sound System, Nativeland Sound System, Tobe Nwigwe, Dystinct, Black Sherif, Tokischa (more to be announced soon), DJs /Collectives – Sixtion, SSSound, La Creole, La Famille Maraboutage. Interactive art installations and visual artists parade, marching bands from Guadeloupe, Morocco, and Asia, fusion food and community transformation.
As part of the Notting Hill programming, Rampage Sound, masquerading bands, and the winning steelband from this year’s Panorama—the National Steelband Competition held on Saturday, 24 August—will collaborate to infuse Paris with the worldwide spirit of Carnival. Tickets and more information are available at karnavalwithlove.com.