Notting Hill Carnival 2027: dates, which day to go, route and how to get there

Notting Hill Carnival 2027 is Sunday 29 and Monday 30 August, the August bank holiday weekend, as it always is. Two million people over two days in the streets between Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park, and the largest street festival in Europe. The questions people ask every year are the same, so here are the answers.

Which day

Sunday is family day: the children’s parade, smaller crowds, and it winds down by early evening. Monday is the main parade, the big sound systems, and the crowd. If you have never been, go on Sunday. If you have been and you want the full thing, Monday. The Saturday night before is Panorama, the steel band competition, which is the best-kept secret of the weekend and needs a ticket.

What time

J’ouvert, the paint and powder opening, starts at six on Sunday morning. The parade proper moves from about ten on both days and takes all afternoon to pass any one point. The sound systems play until about seven, when the police start moving people out, and the streets are clear by nine.

Where

The route is a loop of about three miles: Great Western Road, Westbourne Grove, Chepstow Road and Ladbroke Grove. Ladbroke Grove itself is the busiest stretch. The sound systems are in the side streets and the map is published a couple of weeks before. The food is on Portobello Road and Golborne Road and the queues are part of it.

Getting there and away

Ladbroke Grove station is closed all weekend. Notting Hill Gate is exit-only in the afternoon and closes when full. Royal Oak and Westbourne Park work in the morning and are a struggle by four. Walk in from Paddington or Holland Park and walk out to Shepherd’s Bush; it takes half an hour and it is faster than any station.

Our rule for this page

The route, the station closures and the timings are published by the organisers and Transport for London in August. This page is rewritten the week they land.