NOTTING
HILL CARNIVAL AUGUST - 2005 |
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Notting Hill Carnival - 28-29
August 2005 (Every year)
Venue - Ladbroke Grove
Address - Notting Hill, London, Greater London W10 &
W11, England
Look for Hotels nearby
Notting Hill
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Bayswater
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Paddington
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Earls Court
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Kensington
Carnival
in Notting Hill is an amazing variety of music, live bands,
steel drums, spectacular costumes, dancing, exotic food and
a buzzing party atmosphere.. ...
Taking place on bank holiday weekend - 28th to 29th August,
Notting Hill is second only to Rio in carnival terms and is
the largest multicultural arts festival in Europe. London
buzzes during carnival weekend - so its the perfect time to
combine a visit to the capital with a stag, hen, or birthday
celebration.
The main procession, on bank holiday Monday, boasts around
70 bands or mobile sound systems, spectacular floats and
steel drum bands. Streets are lined with hundreds of stalls
selling exotic foods, arts and crafts from all corners of
the globe.
In addition to the procession, there are three live stages
featuring local bands, top international artists, and music
from all around the world.
The stages play from 12 noon to 7pm on Sunday and Monday.
Artists that have appeared include Eddie Grant, the Mighty
Sparrow, Arrow, Freddie McGregor, Burning Spear, Jamiroquai,
Wyclef Jean, Amaponda and Courtney Pine amongst others.
The area also plays host to 45 licensed Static Sound
Systems, each playing their own selection of soca, reggae,
jazz, soul, hip-hop and funk music, house, garage.
Europe's largest street carnival takes place in Notting Hill
every year, just a stone's throw away from Paddington.
Culinary delights to be sampled include curried goat, jerk
chicken and, for the less adventurous hot dogs and chips.
You can get your whistles out and follow the colourful
processions or spend all day outside one of the many pubs
listening to the rhythms of a hundred thumping sound
systems. The music keeps going into the night (when
occasionally it shouldn't).
Over a million
people take to the streets of Notting Hill in West London to
celebrate the Notting Hill Carnival - Fabulous floats make a colourful circuit of
the area and mighty sound systems blast out music throughout
the day. Get ready for the biggest and best street party in
Europe.
Follow our guide on how to make the most of the experience
and have a safe and happy carnival. Most of all, get your
dancing shoes on and prepare to let loose.
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Get ready for the biggest
and best street party in Europe as over one million people
join in the Notting Hill Carnival on the last bank holiday
weekend of the year. Follow our guide on how to make the
most of the experience and have a safe and happy carnival.
Most of all, get your dancing shoes on and prepare to let
loose.
The Notting Hill Carnival
has been taking place in London, on the last weekend in
August, every year since 1964.
This great festival began initially from the energies of
Black immigrants from the Caribbean, particularly from
Trinidad, where the Carnival tradition is very strong, and
from people living locally who dreamed of creating a
festival to bring together the people of Notting Hill, most
of whom were facing racism, lack of working opportunities,
and poor housing conditions resulting in a general
suppression of good self-esteem.
Five disciplines go to make up the carnival as we know it
today. Mas' from (costume, Masquerade), Steelband, Calypso
(political, social and satirical commentary, set to music),
Soca (the traditional music of Carnival, a fusion of Soul
and Calypso) and Static Sound Systems all play their part on
the two days of Carnival-on-the-Road.
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For a little over 360
days a year the trendy West London suburb of Notting Hill is
a tranquil leafy locale ruled by the latte and boutique beer
set.
The cafes and restaurants do a roaring trade but Jamaican
pasties and blackened corn on the cob rarely feature on the
menu. There's more Mozart than Marley. And in the pubs and
clubs you're more liable to spot the jilted step of a
drunken city banker than the smooth soca of a Caribbean
queen.
But all that changes on the August bank holiday weekend as
the Notting Hill Carnival - Europe's largest street party
and second only in the world to Rio's Carnaval - swings and
sways its way into W11.
So what's a wannabe reveller likely to expect? Well, if
you're not hard of hearing, be warned, you will be. The
sharp blast from ten thousand whistles and the heavy thud of
hardcore bass can be heard from as far away as Hyde Park.
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But whatever you musical
slant, be it ragga or reggae, soca or steelpan, laid back or
lively, there's something here for all lovers of that
calypso sound.
As well as a couple of larger stages - featuring
international headline acts - and a plethora of smaller
ones, impromptu performers roam the streets while many
locals clear the floorboards at home and pump up the volume
to cater for friends or those from the outside masses who
like what they hear. Even the food sellers join in the aural
assault, and there's certainly enough of them.
And if it's food you want, it seems you can't turn a corner
without having your taste buds tempted. Blackened corn on
the cob is the festival staple with jerk chicken a
delicious, close run second. On top of the Caribbean fare,
there's the usual array of take away, but when in Rome…..
The off-licences do a roaring trade and keep the punters
moving through, but trying to get into a pub during the
height of festivities is not recommended for anyone with
more than the slightest sense of claustrophobia. Having said
that, it is often the queue for the toilets and not the need
for beer or white rum that pack the pubs to the rafters.
If ice cold beer is your poison of choice and sitting in a
crowded pub doesn't sound all that appealing, fear not, the
amber nectar is sold by anyone with an ounce of initiative,
a touch of entrepreneurial flair and access to ice and a
container. And although prices vary, the mark-up usually
isn't too outrageous.
But it's usually the spectacle, energy and colour of
Monday's festival parade that most visitors to Notting Hill
Carnival are there to see. Dozens of floats ranging in size
from the modest to the mobile party make there way along
Ladbroke and Westbourne Groves. Calypso tunes blast out from
speakers the size of small sedans. Colourful costumed
dancers strut their stuff in time to their own floats beat.
Swaying onlookers crowd ten and fifteen deep, whistles
blowing and dancing in the streets.
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History
The very first carnival took place in 1964. It was created
by immigrants from the Caribbean, where Carnival tradition
is very strong. Many of these people, now settled in
London, often faced racism, unemployment and poor housing,
leading to poor self-esteem and low morale.
In answer to these problems of racial tension, dances began
to be planned to bring the people of London together. It
was also during this time that steel band music was being
played locally at Earls Court. This steel band music, put
together with the concept of a street festival, sowed the
seeds for what is now the second largest music festival in
the world, the Notting Hill Carnival!
If you haven't been to the Notting Hill Carnival before, it
can be quite intimidating, particularly for the nervous or
very young children. Everyone, but everyone has a whistle
and they're going to use them - all at the same time! Some
of the musical floats have a base beat that could stop a
pacemaker at twenty yards so be warned!
Notting Hill Carnival is being planned and
organised by Notting Hill Carnival Trust. The mission of the
Trust is to support, develop and propagate the carnival
arts.
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Travel to
Notting Hill Carnival
The nearest
Underground Stations are Notting Hill Gate and Westbourne
Park, both of which will quickly become very heavily
congested. Royal Oak and Latimer Road Stations are slightly
further out, but less crowded. Ladbroke Grove Station is
usually closed. A normal underground service will run on the
Sunday, though in some areas, buses will replace trains at
certain points.
Local buses usually run as follows; 7,12,18,23,27,28,31,36,
52,70,94,295,316 & 328. Some routes may be diverted due to
road closures. For up to date information, call the London
Transport Information Office on (0171) 222 1234.
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