Notting Hill Carnival London: A Must-Visit Event in Saveur's Travel Guide
- Roman Pantaleion
- May 2
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
When one thinks of traveling to London, they rarely think about it’s rich and multicultural tradition of Notting Hill Carnival. Traveling can be such an educational and enriching experience and if you have time to visit London in August you must definitely add Notting Hill Carnival right after Buckingham Palace to your to-do-list. Let’s talk about the pros and cons and a bit of the history behind the Carnival.
Date: 24th - 25th August 2025 Sunday Schedule | Monday Schedule
History: After the second world war the U.K. was in dire need of rebuilding. They shipped nearly 500 Caribbean's from the colonised to help rebuild the country known as the Windrush Generation. By 1958 race riots were at an all time in Notting Hill, which at the time was a predominantly black neighbourhood. In response to the hate crimes Trinidadian journalist and activist Claudia Jones, in response organised a Caribbean Carnival 30 January 1959. This was held in doors. It wouldn't be until August 1966 when Rhaune Laslett hosted the first outdoors Carnival. Now as much as I'd love to go into the full historical details of the conception of this amazing event I will leave you with the hyperlinks. Continue reading for my Pros/Cons and Tips.
Pros: A major pro, in my case, about Notting Hill Carnival is being surrounded by people who may look like you. Now if you’re from the USA or North America, Central & South America you may feel like you’re a spectator on the outside of the fish tank. But this is a time to connect and meet others from the diaspora as well as from Africa. The representation of so many people of colour was spectacular. In the USA when you're back, you're just black. There isn't a distinction between Jamaican and Nigerian as there is between the Irish and Italians. So coming into a space where a great majority of the Caribbean is celebrated is magnificent.
In addition the music, the food, the cocktails and the dancing are all pros. In this space were not just people from the Islands but from all over the world. Non-people-of-colour were dancing and parading along with their melanated brothers and sisters and it was what the world should be. In these chaotic times I can only hope that Carnival 2025 is even more inclusive and filled with people who believe in a unified world where their only prejudices are to those who spread hatred.
Cons: Some of the people within the parade weren’t welcoming or nice. I understand that people want to safeguard their culture and traditions, but I feel when it comes to other people of colour you should be a teacher and educate them. For instance- walking along the route I noticed this orange plastic barrier being pulled between us. I asked the people pulling the barrier what was the difference between the two sides and he said there wasn’t one. Moments later people apart of the floats were screaming and being completely rude and disrespectful to us for being on the wrong side. I tried to explain there was a clear miscommunication, but that seemed to anger them more. I’m not a huge fan of crowds and feeling trapped so with the hostility of some of the people I wanted to exit before it escalated.
Again, I’m American, and if you read my bio, I’m from the Bay Area. I do not tolerate disrespect. Another con would be lack of facilities to relieve oneself and trash bins. People were just tossing their garbage as well as glass bottles along the streets of the route. That was very dangerous and possibly caused a few accidents. Especially on family day when children are in attendance. The journalists who covered the parade as well as all the police officers were Caucasian. Not sure about others, but as a POC from the USA I don’t trust Caucasian officers to protect black spaces when they’re taught to do the exact opposite. As a journalist I noticed the journalists in attendance were only capturing the negative aspects of the parade, like trash on the streets, drunken people slumped over on the streets. They captured enough for click bait and a top line, but not the true essence of the carnival.
What to expect: Expect to be surrounded by culture: music, food, drinks and people from all over the Caribbean and even the motherland Africa in attendance. Notting Hill Carnival had over 100,000 people in attendance and most of them were people of colour. It was an amazing sight.
How to dress: If you’re attending on family day be mindful not to wear anything that you wouldn’t mind being covered in paint. One would think the paint is an easy wash-off paint the kids would use around the house, but it isn’t. Shorts, a simple shirt and comfortable old sneakers are fine. Wear a fanny pack or some sort of small bag that can carry and secure personal belongings. Loose pockets would not be ideal. My friend wore these shorts that were in the material of sweatpants and her phone fell out of her pocket.
What to pack: Definitely BYOB! Drinks along the parade route can be expensive. So if coming with friends buy a few drinks and mixers to share between each other. Sunscreen (spf 50 or greater), a handheld fan, sanitiser, baby wipes or sanitising hand wipes and an umbrella would be ideal. Lastly I’d suggest electrolyte water & protein bars in the event you don’t want to purchase food along the route.
The Locals: many people in attendance stemmed from all over the world. But the local energy was inviting and enthusiastic. I attended the carnival with local friends of mine who although not of Caribbean descent made it a tradition to go every year. They welcomed me into that tradition and gave me insight into the carnival and the ways in which it has changed from when they were teenagers.
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL LIMITED
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