Please note that this event has already occured.
Key information
Start date: Saturday 29 August 2015 at 6:00pm
End date: Monday 31 August 2015 at 8:30pm
Join the biggest street party in Europe which attracts over a million visitors every year.
For almost 50 years, carnival has brought summer in London to a spectacular end, with music, dancing, parades, steel bands and more.
This year’s theme is ‘Emergence of Carnival’, a nod to the wide range of carnival arts and how the event has evolved since it started in 1966.
Notting Hill Carnival is supported by the Mayor of London.
- Panorama, Saturday 29 August 2015, 6pm - 10pm, free
If you like steel bands and being outdoors, you’ll love this free open air event. Suitable for the whole family, come along and enjoy a great evening in Emslie Horniman Pleasance Park.
- Sunday Parade / A Family Day, Sunday 30 August 2015, 6am – 8:30pm
The fun begins with J’ouvert, the official start of carnival. There’ll be dance, drummers and steel bands from 6am-9am. The children’s parade follows at 10am, as they show off their flamboyant costumes dancing along the carnival route to pulsating sound systems.
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Monday Parade / The Grand Finale, Monday 31 August, 10am – 8:30pm.
Notting Hill becomes a sea of colour as 60 bands in stunning costumes move to the rhythms of carnival. The music continues at Powis Square’s ‘world music stage’ with live soca, calypso and more.
Road closure times:
- Sunday 30 August from 06:00 until around 23:59
- Monday 31 August from 06:00 until around 03:00 on the morning of Tuesday 1 September
Road closures will be from:
- Harrow Road in the north
- Notthing Hill Gate in the south
- Clarendon Road in the west
- Queensway in the east
The road closures will make traffic around the event areas busier than usual, including A5 Edgware Road, Holland Park Avenue, Notting Hill Gate and Bayswater Road. Wherever possible, drivers should avoid these parts of west London, or allow for delays to their journey.
Local parking restrictions will apply. Find out more from the local councils Westminster andKensington & Chelsea.
Tube
Tube and Rail will be the best way to get around London on the weekend, although stations in west London will be busier than usual
For safety reasons some stations may close temporarily to prevent overcrowding. It may be worthwhile walking part of your journey or finding an alternative route.
Stations close to the Notting Hill Carnival area include:
- Ladbroke Grove: closed on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday
- Latimer Road: closed after 22:30 on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday
- Notting Hill Gate: on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, the station will be exit-only between 11:00 and 19:00. Between 11:00 and 19:00 on Sunday, and all day on Bank Holiday Monday, there will be no interchange between the Circle, Central and District lines
- Westbourne Park: exit-only between 11:00 - 18:00 and closed at 23:30 on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday
- Royal Oak: exit-only between 11:00 - 18:00 and closed at 23:30 on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday
- Bayswater: on Bank Holiday Monday between 12:00 - 19:00, you may want to use this station as Circle and District line trains will not stop at Notting Hill Gate
- Paddington (Hammersmith and City and Circle lines): on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday you may want to use this station instead of Notting Hill Gate or Royal Oak, as both these stations will have entry restrictions.
- Other nearby stations: High Street Kensington (Circle and District lines), Holland Park (Central line), Queen's Park (Bakerloo line) and Shepherd's Bush (Central line).
To save time and avoid queues, top up your Oyster card in advance. Find out more about Oyster and how to get a card. You can also pay using Contactless credit and debit cards, or Apple Pay.
Ticket gates may be left open to accommodate the large number of people using the stations. If you're unable to touch in or out with your Oyster card and you're not charged the right fare, you'll get an automatic refund within seven days of the end of the carnival.
Planned upgrades on London Underground
During the weekend, there are planned works on the Victoria line. There will be no Victoria line service between Walthamstow Central and Seven Sisters, and fewer trains running between Seven Sisters and Brixton.
Services will be busier than usual. Lines close the Victoria line, such as the Central line and London Overground services, will also be much busier than usual while customers take alternative routes.
Find out more about the planned upgrade or plan your journey.
- You can see a guide to carnival on the Visit London website and download a free Carnival app to help you get around on the day.
- Find out more at the Notting Hill Carnival website.