About Nottinghill Carnival 2017

The world famous Nottinghill Carnival takes place over bank holiday weekend on Sunday August 28 and Bank Holiday Monday 29, 2017. Nottinghill Carnival is Europe’s largest street carnival attracting up to two million attendees. Nottinghill Carnival is the second largest carnival in the world, just behind Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.  Sunday is seen as the more family-friendly day; Monday’s celebrations are more boisterous and hedonistic. Portobello Green Market is open for business as usual on the Friday and Saturday August 25 & 26 over Nottinghill Carnival Weekend, but it will be closed on Sunday August 27, 2017.

The carnival parade is a feast for your eyes and ears. London’s Notting Hill Carnival began in 1964 as an offshoot of the Trinidad Carnival.There are five different aspects of carnival: masquerade, soundsystems, steel pan bands, calypso and and soca. Preparing carnival costumes is an all-year-around job, you’ll see some of the most extravagant and mesmerizing costumes on show.

Sunday’s main celebrations begin at 10am and continue to 8.30pm. A Children’s Parade sees a procession, mainly of children in vividly coloured costumes, weave its way through the streets of Notting Hill. Music plays throughout the day and there are plenty of food stalls and diversions to entertain visitors too.

Bank holiday Monday, August 29, is when the main parade takes place and the carnival is at its most intense. It’s a spectacular procession featuring innumerable community groups, clubs and some 60 bands, all exuberant, energetic and dressed in costume. Away from the procession, 38 static sound systems scattered throughout Notting Hill will broadcast diverse genres of music and accommodate performances. The main parade begins on Great Western Road and continues along Chepstow Road and Westbourne Grove before moving to Ladbroke Grove. Again there’ll be plenty of food stalls and other diversions scattered throughout, and even more people to contend with as you explore all that’s on offer. The procession begins at 8am and, officially, things draw to a close at 8.30pm.

Portobello Green Market Opening Times over Carnival Weekend:

Portobello Green Market is open for business as usual on the Friday and Saturday August 25 & 26 over the Nottinghill Carnival weekend, but it will be closed on Sunday August 27, 2017.