Where in London: the largest street carnival. Feathers, drums and arrests
This is the biggest carnival in Europe.
Costumed processions traditionally take place on the last Sunday and Monday of August. Sunday is considered "children's day" at the carnival, and Monday - "adult". Hundreds of thousands of people come to watch the processions, enjoy Caribbean music, dance, cuisine and culture. A million viewers are expected this year.
The Notting Hill Carnival tradition dates back to the mid-60s. True, some sources claim that it all started in the late 50s, but since the organizers say that the current one is being celebrated for the 49th time, then you can start making calculations. We will not be engaged in this boring business, but we will go to the carnival - on its first, "children's" day.
The streets of Notting Hill are driven slowly by huge heavy trucks, which are equipped with powerful loudspeakers. From the speakers, as one would expect, extremely loud music is rushing, to which the participants of the carnival, following the cars, enthusiastically dance.
At first it was accepted to play calypso music at carnivals. Over time, globalization has taken its toll, and now they play reggae, and funk, and hip-hop, and whatever. But it turns out that calypso is a style that appeared on plantations where slaves were forbidden to talk. And then they began to sing and thus communicated with each other.
Another carnival tradition is to get smeared with paint, clay, chocolate... whatever! This is because if in "normal" life it is customary to be clean, then during the carnival everything is the other way around - and part of the carnival traditions is such a symbolic detachment from everyday life.
And another tradition that goes back to the African past. These are costumes made from a variety of natural materials - feathers, beads, shells, and so on.
It turns out that feathers mean a person’s ability to soar, rise above problems, illnesses, adversities and troubles.
I will tell you honestly: when I see these carnival costumes, when I am immersed in the atmosphere of carnival, and I want to soar, get rid of problems and hardships, forget about my age ... But I only manage to do this for a few hours - while I am there, on Notting -hill. There's not even a heartache. But then everything goes back to normal.
A strict lady is the conductor of a group of drummers. Apparently, she doesn’t like something about the way her team sounds.
The slogan of the carnival from the day it was founded was "A people" s art is the genesis of their freedom ". I would translate this as" The freedom of the people creates its art.
This slogan was created to highlight the difficult life of the Caribbean community in London in the late 50s and early 60s.
The carnival then became one of the means of expressing protest against oppression. It was such a story: in the late 50s, the followers of the British fascist Oswald Mosley, who demanded to evict all immigrants from the country, and Colin Jordan, who professed the "universal Nazism of the Aryans," organized a real persecution of blacks. On May 17, 1959, six men killed an Antigua native named Kelso Cochrane.
The murder went unpunished.
And so Claudia Jones, born in Trinidad, decided to hold a celebration of Caribbean culture "in the face of hate from white supremacists." The celebration became an annual event and grew into Europe's largest Notting Hill carnival.
Jamaican flags are the majority, but this is apparently only because Jamaica is the most famous island in the Caribbean.
Atmospheric street carnivals are usually associated exclusively with the temperamental inhabitants of South America. But Europe is not left out. So, the Notting Hill carnival in London in terms of fun and brightness of the participants boldly competes with the Brazilian one.
Brief introduction and historical background
The tradition of holding a bright festival every year appeared in the 60s of the XX century. Its founders were immigrants from the West Indies, who thus wanted to revive the conservative town with a piece of Caribbean culture. Now the festival has become an integral symbol of the cultural unity of migrants with the native English.
The festival got its name from the area in which it is regularly held. This is Notting Hill-north London area. The carnival did not claim to be world famous, but over time it began to gain momentum. In 2018, more than 2 million people decided to visit the holiday. It is possible that 2019 will break this record.
Three day fun
The festival can be called a symbolic "farewell to summer", as it takes place at the end of August. North London is immersed in an atmosphere of crazy fun for 3 days. And for this there are all the components:
- colorful and maximally open outfits of the participants;
- national orchestras;
- dance competitions in different genres;
- loud rhythmic music;
Traditionally, the carnival lasts 3 days and consists of two parts: calm (days 1 and 2) and maximally liberated (day 3). So, let's get to know them better.
1-2 day: drummers and children
The carnival opens with a steel drum competition. At about 7 pm, groups of drummers in colorful costumes take to the streets. These are musical groups from all over the island that compete with each other in entertainment and the ability to extract the loudest sounds from the drums.
The dance part starts on the second day of the carnival, when children appear on the streets. They line up in columns and march, dancing and singing songs loudly. At the end of the day, the organizers give prizes for the best costume or the most spectacular dance.
Interesting! In 2019, the organizers intend to further adapt the carnival for a children's audience. They promise to organize children's tables with sweets and to protect children as much as possible from very cheerful, but drunk adult participants.
Day 3: Banking day
The third day usually falls on a Monday. It is called "banking day" or day of adults. The streets are filled with half-naked people, whose main clothes are underwear in sequins and bright feathers.
The fun starts at 8-9 am. Officially, the carnival procession was divided into 4 parts-drummers, masquerade, calypso and soca (dance and music of the Caribbean region). But in fact, music of different genres plays loudly: rap, hip-hop, reggae, drum and bass, disco, dancehall and many others. The sounds merge into a single collage, under which this whole bright crowd is dancing. At the end of the event, adult participants are also given prizes for the best costume, as well as children.
Unlocks a procession truck or platform. A bright crowd of people follows her. Any visitor can become a part of the procession. If you don’t have a smart suit, you can buy a bright T-shirt or a headdress with feathers right on the spot.
Interesting! The fun ends at 19:00, by 20:30 the noisy crowd must leave the streets. Usually she migrates to local bars and has fun there until the morning.
Dates and itinerary
In 2019, the carnival will take place from 24 to 26 August. The parade usually starts on Great Western Road, after which the crowd moves to Chepstow Road. Then goes to Westbourne and Grove Ladbroke Grove. After that, the procession should return to the starting point, but most often it gets out of control. The crowd disperses to all nearby streets.
Important! You need to book rooms in London hotels in advance. The closer the carnival, the less places there are left in London hotels. And due to the influx of tourists and increased demand, the price will increase every day. You can view various accommodation options in London and book a suitable room at this link.
The Notting Hill Festival gathers more than a million people in one place every year. However, different languages, nationalities and religions do not prevent them from finding a common language in fun and dance. Isn't this a reason to get acquainted with the street festival, which ranks second in terms of entertainment after the Brazilian one?
Happy travel!
Be sure to try to get to the Notting Hill Carnival, which ends the summer holiday season. This is the largest festival in Europe, where the cultural features and traditions of representatives of the Afro-Caribbean peoples are presented.
History of appearance
The festival appeared after the war, when a large number of immigrants of other nationalities lived in the areas of Brixton and Notting Hill in London - Irish, Jews, Indians, Spaniards and others. As a rule, such people lived in extreme poverty, in overcrowded barracks and without normal living conditions. This was due to a shortage of labor in factories and enterprises in the UK.
In the late 1950s, conflicts, skirmishes and riots began to occur between the indigenous inhabitants of the city and visitors based on race. After a big brawl in 1958, many politicians made conciliatory speeches when they came to Notting Hill. The idea of creating the festival was proposed by Claudia Jones, who was a well-known politician from Trinidad and created the first black newspaper in the UK.
First festival
The first time the holiday was held in 1959, on January 30, in London. It was held in St. Pacras City Hall, while traditionally all Caribbean festivals were held in the open air. Such measures were taken as a warning of riots - and besides, in England the climate turned out to be colder.
The brilliance of the event was provided by Rawn Laslett, a social worker. She arranged for a weekend event, discussed options with the police, found musicians and costumes at Madame Tussauds, and organized floats and carts to present different cultures as part of a street procession. More than a thousand people took part in the celebration.
The festival was able to unite different nationalities, therefore its holding has become a wonderful tradition in London. The holiday is held every year, on the last Sunday and Monday of August.
Carnival traditions
It was based on a holiday from Trinidad - J'ouvert, which in translation sounds like "no days off". On this day, everyone, both adults and children, stain their face and body with mud mixed with oil, and dance until dawn. Modern festival participants use all kinds of paints and colored powders, and even chocolate instead of dirt - the main thing is that no one leaves clean!
All participants, regardless of age, dress up in costumes using natural elements - feathers, bones, beads, grass. This version of clothing allows you to get closer to the national roots, because each component means certain spiritual values. For example, feathers were used in African tribes to create traditional masks and hats - this helped to cope with misfortunes and diseases, to prepare for the transition to the next life.
Music has become the main element of the festival in Notting Hill, so here you can hear not only national songs, but also reggae, funk and even rhythm and blues. The calling card for this holiday was a rather unusual style of music - calypso. Previously, slaves on plantations were forbidden to talk while working, so they began to use songs as dialogues, which later developed into this musical direction.
The Notting Hill Carnaval takes place in London's Notting Hill Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on a bank holiday that falls on the last Monday in August. The official birth date of the carnival is considered to be 1966, but the street festival arose a year earlier. It has acquired a pronounced Caribbean hue since 1976.
Now the scale of the event has reached such proportions that Google shows on the map which streets are blocked by the police for the procession, and the number of tourists attracted by colors and music puts it on a par with mass festivities. Notting Hill Carnival includes two days. On Sunday the weather was gloomy, the rain poured like buckets, and it was cool. We postponed our trip to London until Monday in the hope of warming and enlightenment. Events from 2 o'clock in the afternoon got into my photos.
Notting Hill Carnival: procession 27 August 2018.
The carnival opened with a political theme, sick for immigrants from the Caribbean, attracted to Britain in the 50-70s to earn money. Many of them are experiencing difficulties with work, social services, have been deported or have become illegal residents due to the recent change in immigration rules. The issue has been dubbed the “Windrush Generation Scandal” and has led the prime minister, who was previously in charge of the Home Office (MIA), to publicly apologize. On the model of the truck, there is a portrait of Teresa May and the inscription: Teresa's truck - Go Home. The ships were used due to the fact that the first migrants were brought by the British liner Windrush Empire.
After harsh criticism of the actions of the Government, the atmosphere returned to that of a carnival.
The procession was attended by mummers, spirits and shamans.
Fantasy characters, flowers and butterflies.
Then representatives of different countries of the Caribbean region joined, accompanied by loud music and incendiary dances.
There was a lot of discussion on the news about the safety of the event, yet there are a million spectators. They promised metal detectors and examinations of participants, but the police and volunteers found the right balance, I did not notice any problems or mandatory checks. The police were on foot, not on horseback, calm but vigilant, many clearly wanted to join the merry crowd.
The procession stretched for several hours, the participants had a snack along the way.
Musical accompaniment was organized on trucks, buses or open transport.
There is no carnival without dancing! Perky youth gives out both calypso and salsa, and something else crazy to the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean music.
Origins: Notting Hill Fayre & Pagean
There is a memorial plaque in the capital in honor of the initiator of the carnival, who is recognized as an activist, Rhaune Laslett. She was born in east London in 1919 to an American mother and a Russian father. In 1965, Rauna organized a week-long street festival called Notting Hill Fayre & Pagean, which aimed to bring together people from different communities, many of whom were immigrants and lived in the then impoverished Notting Hill neighborhood. However, the costumed parade on Portabello Street was not about West Indian culture. Here were the heroes of Elizabethan times, Charles Dickens, Irish bagpipes and Afro-Caribbean drummers. Rauna rented some of the costumes from Madame Tussauds, hair and make-up was done for free by makeup artists, and horses and wagons were provided by merchants from the local market. In total, about 1000 people took part.
Caribbean Fashion in Notting Hill
Being not the first time in Notting Hill, it seemed to me that the carnival had increased its scope, and the variety of costumes. Participants prepared for several months, and all at their own expense. I managed to catch some spectacular Caribbean fashion shows.
Outlandish images.
Bright colors.
All in feathers.
Caribbean Amazons.
Leading the Notting Hill Carnival are the British Afro-Caribbean community and Trinidad and Tobago, who made up a significant proportion of the residents of Kensington and Chelsea in the 1950s.
The area *Notting Hill, where the festival is held, has not always been so prosperous. Until the 1980s, this was a troubled area of London, there was an atmosphere of decline, crime and general discontent. Growing racial animosity can be put in a separate row, there was even a gang of white working-class Teddy Boys who radically expressed their dissatisfaction with the growing number of migrants.
The police action didn't help much, as as the police got stronger, there was more opposition in the form of protests, more arrests engendered stronger resistance and more violence next time. It seemed that nothing could improve the situation even after attempts to unite people in a common celebration and dances. The confrontation continued until 2008. Now, it seems to me, the passions have subsided, and the members of the Royal family patronize the carnival.
Notting Hill Carnival has a full-fledged destination for children, with a costume contest and a real procession.
In an adult carnival, there are very few costumes on girls, a lot of music and dancing.
The usual starting point was Emslie Horniman's Pleasance ( map). In order to be aware of the route and program, it is better to download a special application for London's Notting Hill Carnival.
Notting Hill Carnival lasts 3 days (program and duration can easily change, check the official website of the festival). It starts with a competition of drummers from all over the island. Children's Day on Sunday.
The most interesting for us starts on Monday, the last day of the carnival is Adults Day. The festival begins to take on a more familiar atmosphere of celebration and fun. Officially, the festival focuses on four thematic areas: masquerade, drums, calypso (calypso) and SOCA (sounds of the Caribbean and Africa). Unofficially there is a lot of mix of music here, a lot of Jamaican-style, drum and bass, dancehall vs. disco. Many girls in traditional costumes, many dances to the sounds of samba. Don't miss Mas bands, they have the best costumes. If you get hungry, then there is a lot of Caribbean food on the streets at this time.
One caveat, now the Notting Hill Carnival gathers a lot of people, tourists and townspeople clog the streets, it comes almost to crushes. It is very difficult to move around Notting Hill, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea during the carnival procession, it is impossible to find a normal place to watch the procession. Over time, this problem will be solved, I assume that the venue will be moved. Now a good way out would be to invite you to the balcony in one of the houses along the path of the carnival.
The carnival ends at 19:00 (possibly until 20:30) and then the fun moves from the streets to the clubs and bars.
To move around the city, use only public transport, you can not try by car, it will be faster on foot.
Take a whistle with you, you will understand when the time comes to use it.
Dress appropriately for the London weather, i.e. make sure to bring a raincoat and appropriate footwear.