As a new resident to London I was intrigued when I heard that there would be a carnival happening over the Bank Holiday long weekend...and who doesn't love a carnival?
To say that the Notting Hill Carnival in London was an eye opener would be an understatement! It was a clash of two distinct types of carnivals. One was like a mini Brazilian Carnivale complete with floats and scantily dressed men and women all dancing the beat of various types of thumping music down the main streets. The other was like a massive street party where people of all types of backgrounds, nationalities, and interests came to drink in the streets and listen to rap and raggae.
The Notting Hill Carnival is Europe's largest annual street festival and has been held every year since 1965. The carnival started our as a response to poor race relations, as seen the previous year in the Notting Hill race riots. The carnival today is seen as a celebration of London's multicultural society and attracts approximately 1 millions visitors.
We encountered people from all walks of life, ages, and cultures. It was a really enjoyable day out and I would definitely go again just to take in the sights. They say a picture tells a thousand words so…
The streets lined with people all around the parade route. One thing that we found really interesting is that there were no barriers to keep the crowd back to a safe distance. So what that meant is that security needed to keep walking up and down the streets telling people to get back…
Oh nothing important happening here…oh wait…hang on…there’s another dancing girl…
Feeling the Brazilian Carnavale vibe? Just on a smaller scale
I am not exactly sure what this float was about but it sure was impressive.
Street Party Notting Hill-style
The sign at the bar said “If you’re not drunk, you’re not doing it right”. It kind of gives you the impression that a good time was had by all…
The street party in full swing.
This guy was really cool. He was dancing outside his Butcher shop selling music, no CD’s or anything but selling the music that was being played over the speakers. I listened for a bit so I guess I owe him a few coins, I guess…
Another crowd photo. That’s the one thing that the Notting Hill Carnival had a lot of…people! It was a good time had by all and I will be going again next year!
Russell is a lifetime movie fan amd twitter fanatic who just made a move from Sydney to London! You can follow him on Twitter here
