Notting Hill Carnival celebrates its Diamond Jubilee after 60 years on the streets

Every August bank holiday, the streets of west London fill with costume, colour and music. This summer the celebration carried extra meaning, as Notting Hill Carnival marked its 60th anniversary, a milestone the organisers called its Diamond Jubilee.

The carnival's roots are wonderfully local. In 1966, resident and social worker Rhaune Laslett organised a children's street party to bring together a neighbourhood affected by conflict, racial tension and poor housing. Russell Henderson's Steel Band was invited to play, and the musicians spontaneously took their pans out onto Portobello Road, with residents following behind. That joyful procession became the foundation of the carnival.

Sixty years later, the organisers describe it as Europe's greatest celebration of Caribbean carnival arts and culture. Ian Comfort, chair of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, put it simply: "Carnival has grown from a small local street party into a global cultural institution." Chief executive Matthew Phillip summed up the anniversary as "six decades of costumes, colour, sound, Steelpan, Calypso, Soca and sound systems."

The 2026 programme ran from 29 to 31 August. It opened with Panorama, the steelband competition, and Junior Panorama at Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park. Sunday brought J'ouvert at dawn, an opening ceremony on Great Western Road and the Children's Day Parade, and Monday was the Main Parade, with sound systems and stages playing through the afternoon on both days.

The anniversary year also brought new investment. The Mayor of London announced an additional £4.66 million to support the event, alongside funding from Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster councils, paying for more stewards, crowd technology and greater organiser responsibility. City Hall estimates that the carnival is worth around £400 million a year to London's economy.

There were other new touches for the jubilee, including a limited edition range of 60th anniversary merchandise with profits going back into the carnival, and plans for a new carnival app. A multiyear research project with UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and Alvaro Barrington's non profit Emelda CIC aims to make sure the wealth carnival generates is reinvested in the communities behind it.

For news, history and plans for next year's carnival, visit nhcarnival.org or follow @NHCarnivalLDN on Instagram.