Great Britain, London
Notting Hill Carnival: vivid photos and videos, detailed description and reviews of the Notting Hill Carnival 2020 event.
- Hot tours to the UK
Previous photo Next photo
Who does not know the carnival in Rio? Bright colors, dancing until you drop - it would seem that this can only happen in hot and temperamental Brazil! But no, and bright street carnivals happen in foggy Albion, no worse than the Brazilian one. Carnival in Notting Hill (a district of London) enlivens this prim European city with new exciting impressions and emotions of incendiary rhythms and dances. More than a million people visit it every year, making it the second street festival of the world after the Brazilian carnival.
More than a million people visit Notting Hill Carnival each year, making it the second-largest street festival in the world after the Brazilian Carnival.
The carnival was first held by members of the West Indian community in 1964. Then the holiday was quite small and was intended to bring a part of the Caribbean culture into English traditions. Over time, the carnival gained momentum, attracted more and more guests, especially since the London authorities actively supported its development.
Much attention is paid to the organization of the safety of the carnival. In the narrow streets of the district, holding a large procession, which has become so popular, is associated with certain difficulties, for which significant funds have been allocated in recent years. Comfortable grandstands are now being installed for spectators, and in order to prevent the city from getting stuck in many kilometers of traffic jams during the parade, an alternative traffic pattern is being organized.
In total, more than 12 thousand police officers work to organize order during the carnival.
Notting Hill Carnival
Carnival is held on the last Sunday and Monday of August. The most exciting part of the holiday is the dance competition between the London bands.
The participants of the festival prepare costumes and performance at their own expense, while the audience does not have to pay anything for the pleasure of admiring the dancers.
In a word - in order to look at the bright, sunny carnival, you do not need to fly to the other side of the world at all. Carnival in London is not inferior to tropical holidays, and the feeling of the location of the festival in the midst of a European city full of contrasts is only getting brighter and richer.
Leading the Notting Hill Carnival are the British Afro-Caribbean community and Trinidad and Tobago, who made up a significant proportion of the residents of Kensington and Chelsea in the 1950s.
The area *Notting Hill, where the festival is held, has not always been so prosperous. Until the 1980s, this was a troubled area of London, there was an atmosphere of decline, crime and general discontent. Growing racial animosity can be put in a separate row, there was even a gang of white working-class Teddy Boys who radically expressed their dissatisfaction with the growing number of migrants.
The police action didn't help much, as as the police got stronger, there was more opposition in the form of protests, more arrests engendered stronger resistance and more violence next time. It seemed that nothing could improve the situation even after attempts to unite people in a common celebration and dances. The confrontation continued until 2008. Now, it seems to me, the passions have subsided, and the members of the Royal family patronize the carnival.
Notting Hill Carnival has a full-fledged destination for children, with a costume contest and a real procession.
In an adult carnival, there are very few costumes on girls, a lot of music and dancing.
The usual starting point was Emslie Horniman's Pleasance ( map). In order to be aware of the route and program, it is better to download a special application for London's Notting Hill Carnival.
Notting Hill Carnival lasts 3 days (program and duration can easily change, check the official website of the festival). It starts with a competition of drummers from all over the island. Children's Day on Sunday.
The most interesting for us starts on Monday, the last day of the carnival is Adults Day. The festival begins to take on a more familiar atmosphere of celebration and fun. Officially, the festival focuses on four thematic areas: masquerade, drums, calypso (calypso) and SOCA (sounds of the Caribbean and Africa). Unofficially there is a lot of mix of music here, a lot of Jamaican-style, drum and bass, dancehall vs. disco. Many girls in traditional costumes, many dances to the sounds of samba. Don't miss Mas bands, they have the best costumes. If you get hungry, then there is a lot of Caribbean food on the streets at this time.
One caveat, now the Notting Hill Carnival gathers a lot of people, tourists and townspeople clog the streets, it comes almost to crushes. It is very difficult to move around Notting Hill, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea during the carnival procession, it is impossible to find a normal place to watch the procession. Over time, this problem will be solved, I assume that the venue will be moved. Now a good way out would be to invite you to the balcony in one of the houses along the path of the carnival.
The carnival ends at 19:00 (possibly until 20:30) and then the fun moves from the streets to the clubs and bars.
To move around the city, use only public transport, you can not try by car, it will be faster on foot.
Take a whistle with you, you will understand when the time comes to use it.
Dress appropriately for the London weather, i.e. make sure to bring a raincoat and appropriate footwear.
In terms of entertainment, the Notting Hill Carnival is able to compete with a colleague from, and in terms of attendance - with any European costume procession.
The number of its visitors has already crossed the threshold of two million people. The tradition began in the 60s of the twentieth century: a celebration of Caribbean culture in the London region of Notting Hill was brought by immigrants from the West Indies. Over time, the carnival has become a true symbol of their cultural unity with the indigenous people of the capital.
Over the course of two weekends and Bank Monday at the end of August, the north London area fills with national bands and hundreds of dancers dressed in incredible colorful outfits. Some of them are dressed in characters from the folk tales of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago - the main representatives of the British Afro-Caribbean community and the procession participants came from these places. After the end of the show at seven in the evening, the festivities move to local pubs and clubs.
One of the main events at the end of the summer season is the Notting Hill Carnival, which inherited the area's name. To date, the festival is considered the largest celebration in Europe, cultivating the traditions and customs of Afro-Caribbean communities. Despite its origin, the colorful and uniquely lively carnival brings together people of all nationalities who want to take part in processions, dances, and musical performances.
History of the origin of the festival
The history of the Notting Hill Carnival goes back to the post-war years, when people belonging to racial minorities lived in the narrow streets of north Kensington, in overcrowded slums, without hot water and electricity, in absolute poverty.
Labor shortages following the end of World War II led to mass immigration to the British Isles. By the late 1950s, Notting Hill and Brixton had become overpopulated areas occupied by western Indian immigrants, Jews, Irish, Spaniards and other nationalities. However, with the exception of primitive housing conditions, visitors also faced more significant troubles. Under the leadership of politician Oswald Mosley, the British Union of Fascists was founded, which included indigenous and only white members of the working class. The slogan of the union read "Let Britain be white", and its activists accused the immigrants that the unfortunate people seized jobs, began to marry local women, and loud music came from their windows until the morning, disturbing the peace of the indigenous people. Oil was added to the fire by a riot that took place in 1958, which resulted in the death of a carpenter from Antigua.
By the end of the year, some measures were taken to ease racial tensions. Members of the British Communist Party staged protests, marching through the streets with anti-racist placards. World public figures such as Norman Manley (Prime Minister of Jamaica) visited the area giving motivational speeches. Trinidadian politician and part-time creator of Britain's first black newspaper, Claudia Jones, came up with the idea of bringing people on both sides of the barricade together by introducing them to Caribbean culture and art.
It should be noted that Jones tirelessly fought for the rights of oppressed peoples around the world. Since moving to America from Trinidad, she has been arrested four times for her activism until Jones is finally banned permanently from America, ensuring a smooth deportation to the UK. Wasting no time and energy, Claudia Jones plunged into politics, continuing to actively fight against racism.
First Caribbean Carnival in London
The holiday got the appearance of a magnificent festival thanks to the London social worker Rown Laslett. It was she who took over the organization of the carnival: she agreed with the authorities to hold the holiday on a state holiday, warned the police about the possible noise, invited musicians, borrowed colorful costumes from the administration, borrowed carts and horses from merchants and called on all ethnic minorities living in the area to take participation in street processions accompanied by music. More than a thousand people came to the festival held by Laslett.
Laslett herself claimed that the idea for the festival came to her in a vision in which she saw people of different races dancing in the streets in colorful costumes.
The festival truly brought together nationalities living side by side and not communicating with each other. The popularity of the idea has increased every year, transforming the area into the center of events on the last Sunday and Monday of summer.
Features of the carnival
Both adults and children dress up in magnificent costumes made of bones, grass, beads, fabric and feathers. The combination of these natural materials carries a certain idea and spiritual power. Feathers, for example, were formerly used by ancient African tribes to create masks and headdresses. People believed that the feather was a certain symbol that allowed them to overcome illnesses and be reborn in a new form in their next life.
Not a single festival happens without music, so walking along the streets of Notting Hill, you can hear reggae, funk and rhythm and blues. The real "anthem" of the festival of Caribbean origin is the calypso style of music. It is known that while working on sugar plantations, African slaves did not have the right to speak, so songs became a way of communication, which later laid the foundation for a whole musical movement.
2014 Chinese New Year falls on earlier dates than in 2013 January 31. Weekends in China will start on the same day, but all the Chinese will probably be going to go home earlier. Not the most pleasant time to travel in China - crowds of tourists everywhere. But watching a holiday show in Beijing or Hong Kong in early February will be entertaining. The celebration will last until February 6.
When is Chinese New Year 2014?
A short story from a Canadian about tolerance in Canada: a gay couple is about to get married. They go to a cake shop and ask the owner to make a cock cake for them with a gay couple having sex on top. “I am a Christian,” the owner replies: “I don’t believe in such love and I can’t make such a cake.” The next day, all resources write that gay rights are violated, the cake shop is besieged by the dissatisfied, it goes bankrupt or it is closed.
After a while, the room...
Tolerance - in simple words
We have been asked more than once whether it is possible to find a job in China and live there without knowing the language, and with all our experience we have proved that it is quite affordable. If your lack of knowledge of Chinese stops you from thinking about going to work in China, then you should consider where you will need it. We taught English and it is not necessary to communicate in Chinese in the office. In everyday life, it is useful to know at least basic phrases in order to find your way and buy what you need. We came with our "Nihao!" and studied
Is it possible to go to China to work without knowing Chinese?
The following products are not very popular among the Chinese, so it will be difficult to find them and the price may be many times higher: dairy products and coffee. Kefir and ryazhenka, which you take with you, will not be enough for you for a long time, but still it is worth taking a few packages along the way. Milk in Chinese stores is laid out quite far from refrigerators and does not spoil. The question is, what kind of milk is this?
What products to take to China?
This KFC was close to our house, open 24 hours. It didn't look very clean, the smell of fast food is not the most attractive. The only thing that made them stand out from other KFCs was good music. I took porridge there once (they are trying to adapt to Chinese taste) - so-so, ice cream a couple of times - it's not bad. There are so many good cafes and restaurants with Chinese food around that it’s not worth spending money on fast food at all!
Where not to eat in Shenzhen? - Fast food KFC
We went to the mountain of Shenzhen's highest mountain, Wutong (梧桐山) in Luohu District, on a day off. What do the Chinese do on weekends? - That's right, they are going uphill, they were especially drawn to this one, there were hundreds of Chinese and us. They were dragging their bags of food upstairs to dine upstairs. We were assured that it would take 5 hours to stomp to the top, but we were stubborn…
How many hours will it take to climb the highest mountain Wutong in Shenzhen?
This cafe from the entire Teremok chain was most conveniently located to walk from my office and decorated well. The food is tasty, the prices are adequate for St. Petersburg. Pancakes with mushrooms, m ... There is no grease hanging on the walls and in general, everything is clean and tidy. Economy lunches are the best option in terms of price and quality.
Where is the best place to dine in St. Petersburg? - Cafe Teremok, Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg, Russia
When the years go by, you work actively, gain a lot of knowledge and experience, so there is little room for surprise. And it was so strange to see how our friend proposed marriage to his girlfriend, whom he has been dating for five years. After all, he did it at an Indian party, when nothing foreshadowed. OudSpread your loved ones - it's magic!
Offers - surprises
For 100 thousand rubles, you can easily travel for two months not only in Southeast Asia, but also in Europe! In Asia, the average budget will be much smaller with cheap hotels for $3-15 per night, meals for $1-3, and travel across the country (eg Cambodia) by bus for $6. With a flight from Russia and back, my budget was only 120 thousand for 5 months and 7 countries of independent travel.
Is it possible to travel around South Africa for 2 months for a hundred thousand rubles?
One yuan in China can buy a lot - socks, a meat bun (bao tzu), a half-liter bottle of water - sometimes there will be change. And also: a stick of street food, a bus ticket, napkins or a metal tablespoon.
What can you buy in China for 1 yuan?
