Notting Hill Carnival 2026 was a huge hit with revellers of all ages leading the charge through the streets of W10.
As many as two million Londoners headed to Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday and bank holiday Monday in a celebration of Caribbean culture.
Europe’s largest street festival - now in its 60th year - saw the streets come alive with glitter, sequins, and feathers as revellers made their way down the parade route.
Inside the carnival zone, sound systems and steel pan bands kept the party going with non-stop music and dancing.
But before any of that, the festivities were kicked off with the J’ouvert celebrations on Sunday to get the carnival underway.
Hundreds of people gathered on Ladbroke Grove to get the party started, throwing colours and paints into the air.
The traditions of masquerade are rooted in African traditions which saw enslaved people mock their slaveowners by creating satirical characters. One such character is Jab Jab, which sees revellers blacken their skin to reclaim their identity and resist racism.
Not long after, the streets came alive as parading mas bands began making their way down Westbourne Park.
Think colours, sequins, glitter, and feathers! Every band picks a theme, creating and sculpting costumes that tell stories in a nod to Caribbean culture.
Children’s mas bands are really the highlight of Sunday’s festivities. Young children carry on the traditions of their ancestors as they waltz their way down the parade route, playing mas with their family and friends.
The meaning of Carnival and its deep rooted racial history was not lost on revellers, who paid homage to Kelso Cochrane and Claudia Jones. Others looked to Greek mythology, paying tribute to other cultures and histories. On Monday, the Mangrove mas band honoured legends of Carnival with puppets, designed by Beat Carnival.
The sounds of soca, calypso, and reggae could be heard from miles away and sound systems blasted tunes from inside the carnival zone.
Dutty mas didn’t go unnoticed either. Similar to J’ouvert, the dutty mas parade saw revellers throw more colours and paints into the air as they made their way around the parade route.
Hundreds of floats were spotted in Notting Hill, hyping up the crowd as they sailed through.
Monday was no different and celebrations kicked off once again with the Adult’s Day Parade.
Masqueraders ramped up the festivities with more elaborate costumes, wowing the crowds in Notting Hill. Notably, Monday saw a strong Latin American presence as Brazilian bloco bands and samba schools joined in the party.
Sounds of calpyso and soca were joined by samba percussions and Latin American rhythms.
Carnival-goers were seen climbing on bus stops and grooving in the streets as the celebrations were turned up a notch on Monday. Crowds flocked to W10 on the busiest day of Carnival, with pictures showing jam-packed streets and roads.
But truly it’s a whole community effort, with local residents providing refreshments and snacks from their front doorsteps - and even toilet access!
Others wanting to refuel headed straight to Golborne Road and Tavistock Road where the smells of jerk chicken, patties, doubles, and curry goat were flooding the streets. Rum punch was, of course, on tap across the weekend.
At 3pm on both days, festivities were paused as parading bands honoured those who lost their lives in the Grenfell fire. Each band and sound system halted their music for 72-seconds, representing each life lost, before bursting into applause.
But it didn’t all go to plan. At North Kensington Fire Station on Sunday, one float missed the silence and forgot to turn off its music as nearby firefighters lined the streets and laid their hats on the ground.
When the MC finally realised, the moment had been marred. The MC issued an honest apology, explaining that he was not aware of the schedule. Firefighters, who had gathered to pay tribute, were seen shaking their heads in disbelief.
The rain showered over W10 on Sunday, but did little to dampen the festivities. The revellers continued to dance and celebrate in the downpour.
There was a notable police presence in Notting Hill over the weekend. The Met Police lined the streets, deploying facial recognition technology inside and outside the footprint, while metal detector arches were also in use.
The force made 169 arrests on Sunday, though they hailed the mood as “overwhelmingly positive and celebratory.” Officers were spotted posing with revellers on Monday as they kept masqueraders safe.
