Seeing as my holidays in London coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival, there is no way I will miss it! And I thought I would take you with me for the time of a post!

Notting Hill Carnival is an event that recurs every year in London during the August Bank Holiday, which means the last Monday of August. It lasts during two days, the Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, it is a family event and on Monday, it is a real fiesta with people dancing and drinking in the streets.

The Carnival takes place in the street of Notting Hill (of the movie fame), in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It mainly celebrates Carribean culture, mainly Jamaica, Trinidad, etc. It is open to everybody though, and you will see that if the dances and music are mainly Carribean, people in the streets come from all over the world. 

Just as you would see in Rio, there are cars parading featuring dance schools, musician, etc. The thing is really exhuberant too, and really is at the opposite of the cliché of rainy London. My own favourite part are the steel drums!

Even though every year there are some incidents reported (well, there is lot of people, and lots of booze), it amazes me how the event gathers people together. Like this cool policeman on the picture. He was dancing during his duties, and encouraging people to also dance!

After the parade, the streets stay closed to cars and people continue to dance and have fun!

If you'd like more info you can check out Notting Hill Carnival's website.

Have you ever been to Notting Hill Carnival?