The main carnival parade takes place on Monday 30th August on the streets of Notting Hill, with the Children's Day parade taking place the day beforehand on Sunday 29th August.
For details of the best way to get there and home again visit the Transport for London website.
The 2004 carnival route map is now available on the BBC website.
In addition to the carnival parades there is a whole season of events. To find out more about these events click on an event in the list below:
- Pan music - Leicester Square
- Calypso Tent
- Monarch Finals (Calypso Tent)
- The Nursery Carnival
- Splash!
- Panorama
- J’Ouvert
- Children’s Day
- Carnival Monday
The Carnival Code will help ensure the Notting Hill Carnival is a weekend of fun for all the family to enjoy
The event information has been supplied by the press office of London Notting Hill Carnival Ltd and is reproduced here in good faith, however Halden Photography accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
Pan music - Leicester Square
For those who can’t wait for the Carnival season to kick off, the British Association of Steelbands (BAS) and Westminster City Council have organised a series of performances that will fill the air around Leicester Square with the sound of pan, entertaining all who pass through.
Dates: 26 th June (Ebony), 27 th June (Penecktar), 17 th July (Glissando), 18 th July (Penecktar), 24 th July (Metronomes), 25 th (Pantasia), 31 st July (Nostalgia), 1 st August (Pantonic) and 8 th August (Croydon Steel Orchestra)
Venue: Leicester Square
Time: 2pm – 5pm
Cost: FREE
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Calypso Tent
The first event in the Carnival season will be the opening of the Calypso Tent by the Association of British Calypsonians (ABC). Each Friday evening, the Yaa Asantewaa Arts Centre will host a unique musical showcase of the best of Calypso & Soca. A select band of international performers and the best of British proponents of the art form will offer aficionados a medley of songs, rhythms, lyrics and bacchanal that is not to be missed.
Headline acts include: The Explainer, Lorraine, Ras Mas, Soca Elvis, Cyclops, Sheyneen Hazel and much more.
The ABC Stars: Sister Sandra (Reigning UK Calypso Monarch), The Mighty Tiger, Lord Cloak, Cleopatra and many, many more.
Date: 30 th July - 27 th August 2004 (Every Friday evening)
Venue: The Yaa Asantewaa Arts Centre: Chippenham Mews, W9
Cost: £8 adults, £7.50 if booked in advance & £7 concessions
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Monarch Finals (Calypso Tent)
A chance to see reigning UK Monarch, Sister Sandra and to find out who will be crowned the UK Calypso Monarch 2004.
Date: 26th August 2004
Venue: The Yaa Asantewaa Arts Centre: Chippenham Mews, W9
For tickets and general enquiries: Wendy Cutler – 020 7286 1656
info@londoncalypsotent.co.uk
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Nursery Carnival
The Nursery Carnival is hosted by the Children and Parents Carnival Association (CAPCA) and will take place in St Mark’s Park on 9th August. For those aged 0-10 years, the event includes the Junior Panorama and mas competitions and is set to fill the Notting Hill airwaves with thunderous bursts of Calypsonian and Soca music.
Date: 9 th August 2004
Venue: St Mark’s Park
Cost: FREE
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Splash!
Months of hard work go into the preparation of the flamboyant Carnival costumes displayed at the Notting Hill Carnival. This year costumes will be revealed at Alexandra Palace in an explosion of colour and excitement. The event will offer masqueraders the opportunity to parade their designs free from the rigours of a three-mile procession.
Date: 14 th and 15 th August 2004
Venue: Alexandra Palace
Time: 12 noon – 9pm
Cost: TBC
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Panorama
Carnival weekend events begin with National Panorama Championships - the annual competition to choose the London Champions of Steel 2004.
Panorama is described as “Carnival’s best kept secret” and is the UK’s showcase for steel band music, one of the five carnival disciplines. Bands swell their ranks to up to seventy-five members each for the event to reach a full orchestral tonal range across the eight types of steel drum. The participants will be playing the latest calypso and soca music arranged by some of the world’s leading pan arrangers.
Date: 28 th August 2004
Venue: Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park, Kensal Road, W10
Time: 7pm - Midnight
Cost: FREE
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J’Ouvert
Sunday August 29 th sees the reintroduction of J’Ouvert – the opening of Carnival – and marks the return of the event to its cultural roots. Taking in a proportion of the Carnival route, traditionalists will ‘chip’ around the Carnival route to the sweet sound of pan playing ‘ole’ or mud mas.
Date: 29 th August 2004
Venue: (Route TBC – will take in a proportion of Carnival route)
Time: 6am-9am
Cost: FREE
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Children’s Day
Sunday August 29 th is Children's Day with the emphasis on family fun reserved exclusively for children and young people who are the future generation of Carnivalists.
Date: 29 th August 2004
Venue: Notting Hill – main Carnival route parade
Time: 10am – 9pm
Cost: FREE
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Carnival Monday
Carnival reaches it pinnacle on Carnival Monday – 30th August 2004 - coming alive with the best of contemporary urban music, thousands of costumed individuals delivering theatrical portrayals, up to 15 steel bands beating sounds with intricate orchestrations and a feast of mouth watering international cuisines. Carnival Monday will be a multifaceted, multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary event for all to enjoy.
Over the two days of Carnival, BMX vert riders and skaters will entertain the crowds on the Red Bull 15m Kingsize II Vert Ramp as they pull off their tricks in the air.
Date: 30 th August 2004
Venue: Notting Hill – main Carnival route parade
Time: 10am – 9pm
Cost: FREE
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Carnival Code
The follow tips will help ensure the Notting Hill Carnival is a weekend of fun for all the family to enjoy
Please remember:
- Have a set meeting place in case you loose family or friends – try not to rely on your mobile phone
- Keep aware, pickpockets will be attracted to the large crowds
- Check arrangements for your return journey before leaving for the Carnival – if you move around the area you may find your return journey easier from another station or bus stop
- Go with the flow of the crowd – don’t try and walk against it
- Don’t bring your valuables or wear expensive jewellery
- Keep your belongings with you at all times
- Don’t carry too much cash or your credit cards
- If you are travelling only a short distance it may be quicker to walk
- Arrange to meet friends and family before entering the Carnival area To avoid congestion, arrive early leave early
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