With Notting Hill Carnival getting underway this weekend in central London I thought I would give you some facts so you are all prepared to hit the West London streets. Feathers at the ready, get set go…….!
It is the second largest carnival in the world, following Rio De Janeiro Carnival
It is the largest street festival in Europe
Over 2 million people attend each year
9,000 police support the event in West London
There are over 40,000 volunteers that help out to make sure the festival runs smoothly
The carnival tradition has its distant roots in the eighteenth-century Trinidadian Canboulay processions
There are five different aspects of carnival: masquerade, soundsystems, steel pan bands, calypso and and soca
It contributes a massive £93million to Britain economy
In 1978 just over half a million people attended the 3 day event
80% of attendees are residents of the UK
They sell LOTS of Red Stripe and and of course Havana Rum
The first Carnival events were arranged as a demonstration of racial unity after the Notting Hill Race Riots of 1958
Another important influence was the unsolved murder of Kelso Cochrane, a young black Londoner, on Golborne Road in 1959
Notting Hill Carnival was inspired by a dream a lady called Laslett had about people of different races dancing in the streets together
The people in fancy dress are called ‘Mas bands’
There are over 15,000 fancy dress outfits on display each year
They spend all year getting ready for Carnival, spending hundreds of hours on every outfit
Their outfits are handmade and decorated with…
3million sequins, 15,000 feathers and 30 litres of body paint
They are inspired by African mythology
Mas camps use top Trinidadian designers and craftspeople to design and create each themed costume
The annual Panorama steel band competition has taken place on bank holiday Saturday every year since 1978
There are around 40 static soundsystems, ten steel pan bands and 70 performing stages
Monday is the wildest day, whilst Sunday is dedicated to families and children
The main parade is on Monday 25th and is 3.5km long
Over 300,000 litres of pineapple juice will be sold
And there are hundreds of street food stalls dotted across the site
A video of policemen skanking at the 2013 Carnival has almost 1 million YouTube views
If you are heading to carnival – have an amazing time!
