Notting Hill Carnival has a ticketed day and almost nobody knows it.
The Saturday is the UK National Panorama steel band competition, it is tickets only, and it is not on the street. It runs in Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park, W10 3DH, from 4pm to midnight.
The Sunday and the Monday are the Carnival everyone pictures, and both are free.
The three days, 2027
Saturday 28 August: Panorama. Ticketed. In a park, 4pm to midnight.
Sunday 29 August: free. J’ouvert, the Children’s Day Parade and Dutty Mas.
Monday 30 August: free. The Adults Parade and the sound systems.
Saturday: the part that is a concert
Panorama is a steel band competition and it is the event the players spend the year preparing for.
Junior Panorama is at 5pm and the main Panorama at 8pm, on the same stage on the same night, with winners for both announced before the evening ends.
The doors are from 4pm and it runs to midnight. It is a seated-and-standing music event in a park rather than a parade, which makes it the one day of Carnival you could take someone to who does not want a crowd of a million people.
Sunday: earlier and messier than people expect
J’ouvert runs from 6am to 9am, starting at the Sainsbury’s by Canal Way Roundabout. Six in the morning, and it is the oldest and rawest part of the whole thing.
The Official Opening Ceremony is 10am to 10.30am at the Mas judging point on Great Western Road, opened by local residents and participants rather than by a dignitary.
Then two parades share the day, and this is the part that catches visitors out.
Sunday is billed as Children’s Day, but Dutty Mas runs the same day, and as a spectator you can expect to be splashed with coloured paint, powder or melted chocolate. That is the tradition working as intended, not a mishap. If you are standing near it, wear clothes you do not care about.
So Sunday is two things at once: the children’s parade, which is as gentle as it sounds, and Dutty Mas, which is not.
Monday: the main parade
The Adults Parade starts at 10.30am and runs the parade route. This is the climax and the busiest day.
The organisers’ own advice is worth repeating: if you have not bought a band costume, wear your own, bring a whistle or a horn, and get to a position on the route early.
The sound systems run midday to 7pm. That is the detail to plan around, because they stop three hours before people expect. Sound systems are the alternative to being on the road: static, loud, rooted in the Jamaican reggae tradition, and now playing everything from rare groove to house.
The grandstand, which is ticketed on the free days
Worth knowing because it solves the main problem with Carnival, which is seeing anything.
The Judging Zone Grandstand is open to the public on both Sunday and Monday, and it is ticketed. It is where the bands perform at their absolute best, because it is where they are being judged.
So the two free days have a paid option inside them, and it is the only place you get a guaranteed view.
How to do it
Want music, not crowds: Saturday’s Panorama, ticketed, in a park, with a running order.
Want the real thing at its rawest: J’ouvert at 6am on Sunday, and accept you will be covered in something.
With children: Sunday, but stay away from Dutty Mas unless everyone is dressed for paint.
Want the spectacle: Monday from 10.30am, in position early, with the grandstand as the paid alternative to standing.
Want to dance without parading: the sound systems, midday to 7pm on Monday.
It takes place around Notting Hill, so our Notting Hill page covers the area the rest of the year, and Portobello Road runs through the middle of it.
Notting Hill Carnival
- Address
- Streets around Notting Hill, London W10 and W11. Panorama is at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance Park, London W10 3DH
- Nearest
- Westbourne Park, Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill Gate, though station closures and one way systems apply on the days
- Hours
- Saturday 28 August 2027 4pm to midnight. Sunday 29 August from 6am. Monday 30 August from 10.30am, with sound systems midday to 7pm
- Booking
- Tickets for Panorama and the grandstand through the Carnival’s own site
- Price
- Sunday and Monday are free. Saturday’s Panorama is ticketed, and the Judging Zone Grandstand is ticketed on Sunday and Monday
- Standing
- The largest street festival in Europe, community led, running since the 1960s
How to get in
Sunday carries both the Children’s Day Parade and Dutty Mas, where spectators can expect to be splashed with coloured paint, powder or melted chocolate. J’ouvert starts at 6am from the Sainsbury’s by Canal Way Roundabout.
Where to go next
Notting Hill covers the area for the other 362 days, and Portobello Road Market runs through the middle of the Carnival route.
London after dark covers where the night goes afterwards, and the Notting Hill restaurants cover where to eat around the route.
Questions we get asked
Is Notting Hill Carnival free?
Sunday and Monday are free. The Saturday is not: it is the UK National Panorama steel band competition, which is ticket only and takes place in Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park rather than on the street. The Judging Zone Grandstand is also ticketed on the two free days.
When is Notting Hill Carnival 2027?
Saturday 28, Sunday 29 and Monday 30 August 2027. Saturday is the ticketed Panorama competition, Sunday is J'ouvert and the Children's Day Parade, and Monday is the Adults Parade.
What time does Notting Hill Carnival start?
J'ouvert begins at 6am on the Sunday, starting at the Sainsbury's by Canal Way Roundabout, with the official opening ceremony at 10am on Great Western Road. The Adults Parade on Monday starts at 10.30am, and the sound systems run from midday to 7pm.
Is Sunday at Notting Hill Carnival suitable for children?
Partly. Sunday is billed as Children's Day and the Children's Parade is exactly that, but Dutty Mas runs the same day, and spectators near it can expect to be splashed with coloured paint, powder or melted chocolate. Plan which one you are standing near.
What is Panorama at Notting Hill Carnival?
The UK National Panorama steel band competition, held on the Saturday at Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park, W10 3DH, from 4pm to midnight. Junior Panorama is at 5pm and the main competition at 8pm, with both sets of winners announced on the night. It is ticket only.
Can you get a seat at Notting Hill Carnival?
Yes, in the Judging Zone Grandstand, which is open to the public on both Sunday and Monday and is ticketed. It is where the bands perform at their best because it is where they are judged, and it is the only guaranteed view.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 236 in the guide.
Last checked 5 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
