Photos: Revellers pack London streets as Notting Hill Carnival celebrates Caribbean culture

2 million are expected to take in the music, parades, dancing and food over the two days

Published: August 29, 2023 16:00 Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor and with inputs from AP

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London: Hundreds of thousands of revelers packed the streets of west London on Monday for the climax of the Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s biggest celebrations of Caribbean music and culture. Image Credit: AFP

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Organizers say up to 2 million people are expected to take in the music, parades, dancing and food over the two days of Europe’s largest street party, which began Sunday with a children’s parade. Image Credit: Reuters

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The carnival traces its history back to 1958, when Trinidadian human rights activist Claudia Jones began organizing a gathering to unify the community after a series of racist attacks on Black people in the Notting Hill neighborhood. Image Credit: AFP

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Launched in 1964 with a few Trinidadian steel bands, it has grown into a huge annual street party involving colorful floats, thousands of calypso dancers in spectacular feathered costumes, almost 20 steel bands and more than two dozen sound systems. Image Credit: AFP

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Performers in costume take part in the main parade of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London. Image Credit: AFP

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The carnival returned to the neighborhood’s narrow streets last year after two years when it had to be held online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Image Credit: Reuters

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This year’s event coincides with commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the arrival in England of the Empire Windrush, a ship carrying hundreds of people from the Caribbean to new lives in Britain. Image Credit: AFP

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The voyage became a symbol of the post-war mass migration that has transformed the U.K. and its culture. Image Credit: AFP

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A participant in colourful costume on the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival, which is traditional known as Children's Day, in London. Image Credit: AP

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Image Credit: AFP

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Photos: Revellers pack London streets as Notting Hill Carnival celebrates Caribbean culture

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