Notting Hill Carnival
at 32 Years Old

Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place in London, on the last weekend in August, for the past thirty-two years; Carnival '97 will be the 32nd. 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. There had been racial tensions in the late 50's and Black people were subjected to constant pressures. Dances were organized in halls in North London, where Black people could come together freely. At the same time steelband music was being played each Sunday at the Colherene Pub in Earls Court by Trinidadians who had immigrated to this country. From this evolved the idea of inviting the steelband to take part in a street festival in Notting Hill, with costumes and steel drum music, to encourage people, both Black and White to come onto the streets and express themselves socially as well as artistically.
In Trinidad, during the days of slavery, Black people (slaves) were forbidden to play musical instruments and wear costumes, apart from when the traditional imported European Carnival took place, six weeks before Easter. This was the only opportunity for Black people to express their feelings about their slave masters and they quickly developed the art of costume making, creating fantastic costumes which satirized their situation as Africans, transported to the Caribbean as slaves. With the formal ending of slavery in Trinidad the tradition continued, going from strength to strength, as people from all over the island began to take part and associate themselves with Carnival. The skills of costume making, steel drumming and calypso became what today is a huge festival of arts and culture, of which Trinidadians everywhere are justifiably proud.
"It's fantastic, it's vibrant, and full of life, DON'T MISS IT!"

The arrival of Trinidadians in Great Britain, remembering their great Carnival back home, provided the spark which ignited Notting Hill Carnival. From a small procession through the streets with just a few people in costume and carrying steel drums in the 1960's, has evolved a huge multi-cultural arts festival, attended by up to two million people.

The five disciplines of Carnival, Mas' (costume, from 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, creating what is the climax to a month of pre-Carnival activities such as dances, sound and soca jams, costume galas, steelband competitions, etc.

In recent years the Notting Hill Carnival has grown and grown, reflecting the multi-cultural nature of our society, with groups participating from Afghanistan, Khurdistan, Bangladesh, the Phillipines and many other places as well as from all parts of the Caribbean, Africa, Central and South America and the United Kingdom.

 

In addition to the procession of costume, soca and steel bands, which winds its way over a route of some three miles, the area plays host to 45 licensed Static Sound Systems, each playing their own selection of soca, reggae, jazz, soul, hip-hop and funk music, and hundreds of street stalls selling exotic foods from all corners of the globe as well as arts and crafts.

There are also three live stages within the Carnival area, featuring local bands, top international artistes, and music from all around the world. These stages play from 12 noon to 7pm on both of the two days. This is the largest arts festival in Europe and in Carnival terms is second only to Rio. It's fantastic, it's vibrant, and full of life, DON'T MISS IT!

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