On an unsuspecting W10 backstreet, the party’s come early. Residents gawp from windows and balconies at a mini-parade of feather-clad bikini dancers and plumage-framed muscle men. Atop a food truck dispensing trays of sticky BBQ wings a sound system rattles windows with hip-shaking Caribbean soca sounds while, at the far end of the street, a drum troupe provides the beat for a trio of skipping stilt-walkers dressed as sentient totem poles.
This may only be a tiny taste of the full-blown event, laid on for a launch party in July, but Notting Hill Carnival 2026 is clearly itching to whack on its peacock headdress and spark up its 60th anniversary extravaganza.
