By Debbie Ransome
We all know the basic diaspora narrative: from slavery and indentureship to independence, the Windrush and other
The secret joys of Notting Hill Carnival
Look beyond the main streets and you can find political commentary, diverse culture, great people watching and a chance to make new friends on the streets of Notting Hill
You may have been lucky enough to enjoy the heights of carnival in the Caribbean. You may also have enjoyed Notting Hill Carnival in London, with its mix of children’s and pretty mas’ bands, accompanied by ribcage-rattling sound systems. But there are still more hidden treasures to be found in the streets of London each year.
In 2025, Caribbean Intelligence© decided to explore those secret joys, rather than give you the traditional coverage.
If you still enjoy the traditional 21st Century Notting Hill, here are some links for you to be getting on with – full of pretty mas and fun-in-the-London-sun vibes:
Carnival 2019: Trinidad's got new rules | Caribbean Intelligence
In celebration of London's Notting Hill Carnival 2017 | Caribbean Intelligence
Notting Hill 2013 | Caribbean Intelligence
For the voyage of discovery, however, keep reading…
Today’s Notting Hill Carnival still has the original Trinidad template of masquerade bands, forged by nostalgic Trinis in the 1950s. Now, of course, it has a Jamaican soundtrack, a global (Jamaican-dominated) food scene and a spattering of culture from Latin American and European diaspora communities in multi-cultural London.
This gives you a chance to mix and make friends with people from a number of cultures, including the growing number of Latin American and Brazilian bands and dance troupes. 
You can even pick up some Brazilian dance moves. Enjoy our video of a Brazilian dance troupe in a (relatively) quiet square in the carnival area.
Bring a sense of humour
Trinidadians can fill you in on the joys of J’ouvert and its irreverent political and social commentary first thing on a Carnival Monday morning. No politician, celebrity or VIP is safe from the scathing posters and cards carried by proud J’ouvert people who take to the streets in the early hours of carnival to express their opinion.
In London, this humour and commentary has morphed into posters and graffiti.
If you look hard enough, you can find all types of up-to-date political commentary, not dissimilar to Trinidad’s picong traditions. While some people in the UK spent their 2025 August Bank Holiday yelling and screaming outside hotels full of asylum-seekers, Notting Hill revellers had a more tolerant message.
And these flyers pay tribute to the tongue-in-cheek nature of carnival behaviour.
There is much to be laughed at. The pubs on the fringes of the area are great places to observe carnival-goers passing by in their costumed finery. Expect to pay dearly for this vantage point (“we don’t do half pints”) at such establishments.
While we’re on the subject of drinking, try to pay tribute to Trinidad’s favourite beer. You might have to search for it, but by insisting on a Carib, you too can be part of the movement to restore one of the island’s finest beverages to the streets of London. Sorry Jamaica, Red Stripe can’t be the only drinking game in town!
And if you really want to dig down into the roots of Carnival, check out a steelband playing on the streets. This is Mangrove Steelband Juniors practising ahead of the Saturday night steelband contest, Panorama. By the way, Mangrove adults won the 2025 title. Choose your spot well, as some of the pan bands can get drowned out by sound systems when the volumes are ramped up during the weekend.
And make time for the high-spec costumes that echo the traditions of Trinidad and Latin American carnival costumes.
Warning: try to avoid the jab jab posse and their oil/ paint mas, guaranteed to ruin your best designer outfit with indelible stains. In Trinidad, they’re safely off the streets by mid-morning on Monday. However, in Notting Hill, you can easily run into these guys around 2pm on Kiddies’ carnival day on Sunday.
No, they don’t go home early, so carry a spare T-shirt if you take pride in your appearance!
There are many column inches given to coverage of Notting hill Carnival, often more for its arrests than its jollity. So, at Caribbean Intelligence©, we hope we’ve been able to share more of the hidden and joyous mix usually missed by mainstream media. These are some of the things that make Notting Hill Carnival so very different from its original model.
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