Notting Hill Carnival London 2024 Guide

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The Notting Hill Carnival is held on the last weekend in August.  This year it will be celebrated on August 29 and 30, 2026.  This is also the August Bank Holiday Weekend.

The Carnival began in 1966 to celebrate the British West Indian community and to encourage cultural unity.  Almost 500 people attended the event in Notting Hill.  

Today over one million attendees are expected.  It is now the largest street festival in Europe and one of the largest in the world.  Hundreds of thousands of people will be coming to London for the Carnival.  

50,000 performers will be in the parade alone.  You can expect to see elaborately decorated floats, beautiful costumes with feathers and sequins, dancers, fun entertainment and so much more!

There will be more than thirty sound systems playing non stop music with calypso, soca, reggae, meringue, afrobeats, rumba and more.  People let their hair down and dance to the music.

My favorite part of any festival is the food.  There will be stall after stall with tasty Caribbean dishes available for purchase.

Caribbean food is a fusion of cuisine from the many countries that have had presence in the islands.  You’ll find European, Latin American, Cajun and African influences in many traditional recipes.  Feast on Jamaican jerk chicken, Trinidadian roti, peas and rice and Guyanese pepper pot.

The Notting Hill Carnival is a free event, including the main parade and all the other street entertainment.  The Carnival takes place on the streets of London around Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Grove, Westbourne Park and Kensal Road.

Notting Hill Carnival Tips

Some tips for the Carnival.  It will be hot.  Take a reusable bottle of water with you, wear a hat and use sun cream to protect your skin.

If you want to attend the Notting Hill Carnival and want to dress the part, you can find outfits below for:

Caribbean Cuisine

If you liked the Caribbean food at the festival and are interested in learning more about cooking Caribbean favorites, try these cookbooks.  You can use our links to see how you can save money on each book.

Or you can enjoy Caribbean cuisine in the best Caribbean restaurants in London as chosen by the users of TripAdvisor.

  • Turtle Bay Camden
  • Turtle Bay Hammersmith
  • Cottons Shoreditch
  • Cottons
  • Roger’s Kitchen
  • Ma Petite Jamaica
  • Jamaica Patty Co.
  • Etta’s Seafood Kitchen
  • Fish, Wings & Tings
  • Cafe Caribbean

Visiting London

If you’d like to visit London for the festival, you should consider the following hotels.  They are in the Notting Hill District and are all offering discounted rates which can save you money on your stay.

  • The Abbey Notting Hill – 49% Discount
  • Grand Plaza Serviced Apartments – 36% Discount
  • Garden Court Hotel – 34% Discount
  • Berjaya Eden Park London Hotel – 34% Discount
  • Bob W. London Hyde Park – 31% Discount
  • The 55 by La Mirage – 27% Discount
  • Notting Hill Serviced Apartments – 26% Discount
  • The Princess Square Hotel – 21% Discount
  • Star Hotel – 20% Discount
  • Royal Park Hotel – 19% Discount
  • Space Apart Hotel – 17% Discount
  • Pembridge Palace Hotel – 17% Discount
  • Blue Bells – 17% Discount
  • The Laslett Hotel – 16% Discount
  • The J Hyde Park Hotel – 16% Discount
  • Hyde Park International – 14% Discount

If you’re going to be flying to London, you can find out how to save money on your flight here.