Fri | Dec 20, 2024

Notting Hill Carnival returns to London streets after hiatus

Published:Sunday | August 28, 2022 | 3:28 PM
Carnival-goers gather during the Family Day at the Notting Hill Carnival which returned to the streets for the first time in two years, after it was thwarted by the pandemic, in London, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) — The annual Notting Hill Carnival has returned to the streets of London for the first time since 2019, with more than 1 million people expected to take in the music, spectacular parades, dancing and food offerings at Europe's largest street party on Sunday and Monday.

The carnival, which celebrates Caribbean culture at the end of August every year, had to take place online for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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 racially motivated attacks on West Indians in west London's Notting Hill neighborhood.

The event has grown from a festival drawing several hundred people to a huge annual street party, with tens of thousands of performers in the colorful parade and more than 30 sound systems.

Celebrations began on Saturday night, as more than 1,000 people gathered to watch a steel band competition in west London.

Crowds of young children blowing whistles danced down the streets with their parents on Sunday, traditionally a more family-friendly day than Monday. Some children stood on the doorsteps of their houses waving Jamaican flags.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Inst gram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.