NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL 2023

Notting Hill Carnival is one of the longest-running street parties in the world. The annual Caribbean Carnival event has taken place in the streets of London for more than 50 years.

The three-day showpiece celebrates the Windrush legacy, where the best of mas dancing, soca, calypso, steel bands and sound systems are displayed for everyone to enjoy.

Jon Bradley, head of performance delivery, shares how meticulous planning helps keep the capital moving over such a busy bank holiday weekend: “More than two million people travel to West London across the weekend to dance, party and enjoy the atmosphere during this celebratory event, many of whom use the London Overground.

“We have a part to play in delivering a safe and reliable service for customers using our services to and from Kensal Rise, Willesden Junction, Shepherd’s Bush and other nearby stations, where we see an increase in customers using our trains and stations, which we must carefully manage.

"We have a well-rehearsed event plan, which sets out how we manage stations and our train service, which is shared with our key stakeholders. We also have convened sessions throughout the week prior, to forecast and address any operational and performance risks.

“As part of our current North London Line focus with Network Rail, this year we also deployed additional response teams to support any incidents across the weekend, allowing us to safely and quickly contain delays from spreading across the route.

“With the weekend over, we will now review and identify any key lessons or areas to take forward."
 
For many attending Europe’s biggest street party, the all-important atmosphere starts in the station with our station colleagues. Read about how the stations team meets the challenge of major events such as Notting Hill Carnival: https://exchangeextra.shorthandstories.com/party-responsible/index.html 

“Working during the Carnival is always fun but can also be very challenging. Being part of a great team helps you to cope, plus the whole Carnival vibe carries you through no matter what! (Shout outs to the Kensal Rise Dream Team!)” - Denise Anderson, customer host 

We love to see colleagues from around the business coming together to coordinate and contribute to the success of such a large event. A huge thank you to everyone involved.

Here, station colleagues and event volunteers share their photos from the weekend. Thank you Bunmi Orisabiyi, Daniel Sassoon, Christopher Newton and Shelton Shaw. Scroll down to see more.