Notting Hill Carnival 2023

I was so happy to go to Notting Hill Carnival this past weekend. The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966. It is Europe’s largest street event and is the world’s second biggest carnival after the Carnival in Rio, Brazil! Two million people were in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to celebrate Caribbean heritage and music. This year was special because efforts were made to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Windrush generation who came to the United Kingdom after the second world war to rebuild the nation. It was also the 50th anniversary of the sound system and the masquerade bands which grace the parade route in beautiful costumes. I was in my element visiting different sound systems; eating Jamaican food; and drinking rum punch. The weather was decent and I did a whopping 25,000 steps. I highly recommend checking out Notting Hill if you haven’t done so. It is always celebrated over two days in August; the last bank holiday which falls on a Monday and the preceding Sunday. In 2006, the UK public voted Notting Hill Carnival onto a list of icons in England.