Before Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts made it the eponymous setting of their silver screen love story, Notting Hill of West London was the ultimate Bohemian playground. The vibrance of its Portobello Market, the quaint tea shops and pubs where gathered folk from eclectic walks of life and the cobblestone streets lined with Victorian townhouses was what drew the producers of the film in the first place. Not to mention the fact of its stunning cultural diversity and ultra-cosmopolitan nature. From its first development in the 1820s, Notting Hill has always been a magnet for alternative cultures and artists.
Ironically, in the wake of the film’s popularity, real estate prices have ratcheted up, forcing its original Bohemian charm to give way to the more up-and-coming, ultra-chic elements of London society. Today, Notting Hill is a markedly affluent area of town, with high-end retail outlets, fashionable restaurants and the addresses of some of London’s notable personalities. However unrecognizable the streetscape now seems when compared with the 1997 film that brought it to international attention, at least three elements of Notting Hill remain constant – the Portobello Market, the area’s multi-ethnic character and the Notting Hill Carnival.
Notting Hill Carnival harks from the 1960s, when the area was the rather seedy residential area of several disenfranchised immigrant communities, most notably those of the West Indies.
The present-day incarnation of the Carnival has its roots in two separate places, the joining of whom was purely coincidental. The Carnival was first launched in 1959 as a counter to the Notting Hill racial riots that had cast a pall over the community the previous year. This was an in-door event organized by Claudia Jones, a Trinidadian expatriate who is recognized as the “Mother of the Carnival”. The Carnival’s other component was a more diverse outdoor event organized by Rhaune Laslett in 1966, with more hippie overtones and geared more toward cultural unity. The two events encountered one another when the Carnival steel band accidentally joined the neighbourhood children’s street festival. And the rest, as they say, is history.
It is however agreed that the common inspiration for the festival were the 19th century Caribbean carnivals that celebrated the abolition of slavery and freedom from the slave trade. This flavour became particularly pronounced by 1976, where it saw approximately 150,000 people in attendance.
Today, that number has climbed up to an average of 1.5 million, making it one of Europe’s largest street festivals. It is viewed by the people as one of the city’s most dynamic celebrations of its cultural diversity, celebrating the best of Caribbean traditions. London steel bands still feature heavily and the 3-mile parade is also a key highlight of the event. Altogether, the Carnival boasts 20 miles worth of flamboyant costumes, Caribbean food stalls and 40,000 volunteers to oversee it all.
The Notting Hill Carnival kicks off on the Saturday in August before the Monday Bank Holiday, with a steel band competition. Sunday is the day for the kids’ activities and costume parties while the main parade is scheduled for Monday. This procession of floats and gregarious street performers begins of the Western Road onto the Westbourne Grove via the Chepstow Road, finally winding up in Ladbroke Grove. The after-parties carry on well into the wee hours, long after the floats have departed.
Travellers who find themselves staying at London hotels or London serviced apartments on business or pleasure should definitely clear their schedules to look in on this affair of pomp and spectacle. Those looking for a luxury serviced apartment in London need look no further than Ascott London Mayfair. This centralized luxury accommodation at the heart of London’s most exclusive residential area affords access to a wealth of London’s cultural and art hotspots, including those in Notting Hill.
