Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival

Up to one million people enjoyed two days of Caribbean culture, food, music and dance. Europe’s biggest street festival with over 7,500 participants, the Notting Hill Carnival opened with thousands of revellers watching a parade of giant floats. Hundreds of youngsters took part in the children’s day at the carnival which traditionally starts the event, now in its 49th year. One of the highlights of the parade was the Chocolate Nation Mas float, followed by hundreds of people throwing liquid chocolate over themselves and the public as they danced through the streets.

But the poor weather on Monday affected turnout on Ladbroke Grove along the parade route.

It took over 1 million hours to prepare the bands for the Carnival with 30 million sequins sewn on to all of the costumes, 15,000 feather plumes and 30 litres of decorative body paints. The guests definitely had a great choice of refreshments, with 300 food stalls providing 1 ton of chicken curry, 1 ton of Jamaican patties, 15,000 deep-fried plantains, 30,000 corn on the cob, 1 ton of rice and peas, 12,000 mangoes, 16,000 coconuts, 5 million hot and cold drinks and 25,000 bottles of rum.

This year’s event paid tribute to the steel pan, the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, which has been a significant feature of the carnival from 1964 until the present day. The Notting Hill Carnival Enterprises Trust said some people thought the first carnival took place in 1964, but others argue a street parade took place the following year. However, the trust said there was documentary evidence which showed the first event with performers, costumes and music took place in 1966.

The London Metropolitan Police deployed 7,000 officers for Monday’s event, 1,000 more than on Sunday. The annual Notting Hill carnival is thought to be Europe’s largest street party and represents one of the biggest operational challenges. The Met said 261 arrests were made over the two-day street festival over drugs, for common assault, disorder and for possession of weapons.

source: BBC and www.nottinghillcarnival.eu

participant – résztvevő
reveller – mulatozó
float – felvonulásokon használt guruló uszály
highlight – fénypont
liquid – folyékony
turnout – részvétel
route – útvonal
sequin – flitter
feather plume – toll
body paint – testfesték
refreshment – frissítők
food stall – ételes stand
Jamaican patty – kb. különböző töltelékkel töltött fűszeres pite
plantain – főzőbanán
corn on the cob – csöves kukorica
to pay tribute to – tiszteleg valami előtt
steel pan – eredetileg olajoshordókból készült karibi ütőhangszer
feature – jellegzetesség
evidence – bizonyíték
challenge – kihívás
common assault – tettlegesség
disorder – rendbontás
weapon – fegyver