The Notting Hill Carnival, in West London, is the largest street festival in Europe and the biggest Caribbean festival outside of the Caribbean. It is held on the last weekend of August every year and it attracts nearly 1.5 million people. The Carnival starts on Saturday with a competition between steelpan bands. Sunday is Children’s Day, with a short parade and the longer adults’ parade is on Monday. The parades are around the area of Notting Hill.
Decorated trucks, called floats, drive the parade along a special route. On the trucks are people dressed in amazing colourful coustumes. Each trucks plays loud music – some using live bands, some playing recorded music. The people on the floats sing and dance to the music. The music includes reggae, from Jamaica, steelpan bands and calypso from Trinidad, South American salsa music from Cuba and Puerto Rico, and soca – a fusion of calypso and Indian music.

R. e D. T., classe 1 sez. D