Notting Hill Carnival is Back With a Bang After Two Year Hiatus

This year, Europe’s largest street festival attracted over two million attendees
August 31, 2022
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notting-hill-carnival
© Daniel Samray / Shutterstock

Notting Hill Carnival is back to west London’s streets after a two-year break. Calypso tunes, razzle-dazzle costumes and flamboyant parades took over the pedestrian areas from Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Grove and Westbourne Park with 50,000 performers.

Over two million people flocked to Notting Hill Carnival’s locality to get a taste of the vibrant floats, steel bands and traditional Caribbean food. Due to the sheer number of attendees, authorities pedestrianised vast swathes in the capital’s west.

Europe’s biggest street festival is a free event that takes place yearly during the August summer bank holiday weekend. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-day outdoor event took a break in 2020 and 2021. 

Notting Hill Carnival kicked off in 1966 as an expression of community solidarity towards racially motivated attacks in the British capital. Back in that day, the now ritzy Notting Hill neighborhood was extremely deprived and home to a vast Indian community. 

© @RidwanAAdedapo / Twitter

Although when it first took off Notting Hill Carnival attracted no more than 500 attendees, the outdoor event is now London’s most sought-after street party. To honor its return, we’ve gathered the best bits from this year’s much-awaited edition. 

Notting Hill residents might have been annoyed at the hustle and bustle of the parade, but they made a business out of it.

Several videos surfaced on social media showing residents charging festival attendees with £3 to £5 to use their bathrooms.

Calypso and raggae tunes are all about shaking what your momma gave you.

But this year’s Notting Hill Festival attendees went wild and considered that everything – including the bus shelter’s roof – is the go-to platform for a twerking session.

The latter proved to be a not-so-suitable stage for the mighty twerking ritual.

© @YEaasyy / Twitter
© @BettySw26205497 / Twitter

Still on the twerking chapter, carnival attendees wanted to spread the carnival vibes everywhere and anywhere.

This angel took one for the team and twerked on a Metropolitan Police officer.

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