Notting Hill Carnival 2026: road closures, Tube and bins

Notting Hill Carnival returns on Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August 2026, and most roads inside the Carnival area will be closed to traffic from 6am on the Sunday until 6am on Tuesday 1 September, with parking restrictions starting even earlier, at 11.59pm on Saturday 29 August. Ladbroke Grove station is shut all day on both days, and there are no rubbish or recycling collections anywhere in the borough on Monday 31 August or Tuesday 1 September. (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, road closures and parking restrictions; Transport for London, Carnival and bank holiday travel 2026; RBKC, clean up after Carnival)

This year’s event marks 60 years since the first Carnival in 1966. The council describes it as the largest event it facilitates, spread across North Kensington and Westminster and drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors. The organiser is Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, based at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. (RBKC, Notting Hill Carnival 2026)

Below is everything the council, TfL and the organiser have published so far for residents, in one place, with the dates that matter if you live inside or near the footprint. Two things are still to be confirmed: the exact hours of the new Notting Hill Gate closure, and the full programme, which the organiser publishes on its own site.

Key dates at a glance

Road closures: 6am Sunday to 6am Tuesday

The council says most roads within the Carnival area will be closed from 6am on Sunday 30 August until 6am on Tuesday 1 September, “or until it is safe to reopen them”. Only pre-authorised Carnival vehicles and emergency services are allowed inside the area, and residents who keep a car within it are asked to move it out before Saturday 29 August. The council has published a road closure map for 2026. (RBKC, road closures and parking restrictions)

New for 2026 is a closure of Notting Hill Gate itself. The council says a section will be closed to all traffic except buses on Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August, with exact times still to be confirmed. TfL is more specific about the stretch: the A402 Notting Hill Gate will be fully closed between Campden Hill Road and Kensington Church Street and Palace Gardens Terrace to everything except buses and people walking. Diverted traffic will be sent via Addison Road, Kensington High Street and Kensington Church Street. (RBKC, road closures; TfL, Carnival travel 2026)

That diversion lands on a Kensington High Street that has already lost its eastbound lane to works this month; see our Kensington roadworks page for the current position there.

There is also an earlier closure in the north of the borough. Local roads around Kensal Road close from 11am to midnight on Saturday 29 August for the Panorama steel band competition at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance. (RBKC, road closures)

Parking: restrictions from 11.59pm on Saturday

Most parking restrictions apply from 11.59pm on Saturday 29 August until 6am on Tuesday 1 September. Waiting restrictions will also be enforced in Pembridge ward and parts of Norland and Campden wards on the Sunday and Monday. (RBKC, road closures and parking restrictions)

Santander Cycles docking stations inside the footprint are suspended from 2pm on Saturday 29 August until 8am on Tuesday 1 September, and dockless e-bikes and e-scooters are restricted in the Carnival area. The council adds that temporary bike stands are being removed and will be replaced on 1 September. (TfL, Carnival travel 2026; RBKC, pedestrian access)

Residents-only streets and getting home on foot

The council lists the roads that will be barriered with access limited to residents: Blagrove Road, Codrington Mews, Colville Houses, Colville Mews, Edge Street, Holland Park Mews, Kensington Park Mews, Lonsdale Road, Malton Road and Malton Mews, Pembridge Gardens, Portobello Road between Chepstow Villas and Pembridge Road, St Charles Place, St Lukes Mews, St Mark’s Place, Stanley Gardens, and the roads around Swinbrook Estate (Acklam Road, Bevington Road, Raddington Road, St Ervans Road and Wornington Road). Malvern Close, Morgan Road, Orchard Close and St Joseph’s Close on Swinbrook Estate stay open but are affected by the restrictions. (RBKC, pedestrian access)

To get through a residents’ cordon you need ID showing your name and address: a bank statement, council tax statement, utility bill or driving licence all count. Council-provided carers are sent authorisation letters automatically; anyone with a private carer should ring Carnival services on 020 7361 3868. The Tavistock Crescent footbridge is closed from 10am to 10pm on both days. (RBKC, pedestrian access)

Tube and bus: Ladbroke Grove shut, Notting Hill Gate no entry from 11am

TfL’s published arrangements for Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August are the same on both days:

• Ladbroke Grove: closed all day.
• Latimer Road: queues likely outside, may close temporarily; closes at 11pm.
• Notting Hill Gate: no entry 11am to 6pm; District and Circle line trains do not stop; no interchange between the Central and District/Circle lines; may close temporarily.
• Westbourne Park: no entry from 11am.
• Holland Park: no entry 11am to 3pm, then closed from 3pm.
• Queensway: exit only 11am to 6pm.
• Royal Oak: no entry 11am to 6pm, then closed from 6pm.
• Shepherd’s Bush: after 4pm no ticket sales and no down escalator; 71 steps to the platform.
• Kensal Rise: Chamberlayne Road entrance closes at 6pm, with a queuing system at the Station Terrace entrance after that.

The Night Tube and Night Overground do not run on the Sunday or Monday nights, and TfL says the Central line will be very busy. The organiser’s advice is to take the Tube or Elizabeth line to Paddington and walk in. (TfL, Carnival travel 2026; Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, travel)

Bus routes 7, 18, 23, 27, 28, 31, 36, 52, 70, 228, 295, 316 and 328, and night routes N7, N27, N28 and N31, are diverted. TfL is running limited-stop extras: the 148X to Victoria and Vauxhall from 10am to 10pm, the 7X to East Acton all day, the 36X towards Harrow Road in one direction only, the 18X to Stonebridge Park from midday to 10pm, and the 23X to Victoria on the Monday afternoon only. (TfL, Carnival travel 2026)

Our Kensington Tube and travel page covers the normal service pattern for the rest of the year.

The programme, as published so far

The council’s official event schedule runs across three days:

• Saturday 29 August: the UK National Panorama steel band competition, 4pm to midnight, at Emslie Horniman’s Pleasance, Kensal Road, W10 3DH.
• Sunday 30 August (Family and Children’s Day): J’Ouvert from 6am to 9am, starting at Sainsbury’s on Canal Way, Ladbroke Grove; the Judging Zone grandstand open to the public 9am to 8pm; the official opening ceremony 10am to 10.30am at the Mas judging point on Great Western Road; the Children’s Day parade 10am to 6pm on the parade route.
• Monday 31 August (Adults’ Day): the grandstand open 9am to 8pm; the parade from 10.30am; static sound systems midday to 7pm.

Street trading in the Kensington and Chelsea part of the footprint runs 10am to 8pm on both days. Full programme details are on the organiser’s own website. (RBKC, official event schedule)

Bins: nothing collected on 31 August or 1 September

There are no rubbish or dry mixed recycling collections on Monday 31 August or Tuesday 1 September, and food waste collections due on those days are made on Wednesday 2 September instead. Garden waste collections in the south of the borough move from Wednesday 2 September to Saturday 5 September. The Too Big For The Bin bulky waste service is suspended for the same two days and resumes on Wednesday 2 September. Normal collections resume on Thursday 3 September. (RBKC, clean up after Carnival)

Street cleaning runs each night of the event with washing to follow, main roads and the areas around stations first, and the council expects most streets to be “cleaned and returned to a high standard by Saturday 5 September”. Temporary toilets go in from Wednesday 26 August. (RBKC, clean up after Carnival)

If your basement area or frontage is inside the footprint, the council offers a free clean-up service, subject to conditions, and a paid option at £31.50 for a basic sweep and litter clearance or £78.75 with a wash down. Bookings close at 5pm on Thursday 27 August, on 020 7361 3001 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). (RBKC, clean up after Carnival)

Who to ring

The council’s published helplines for the weekend are:

• Carnival enquiries: 020 7361 3868. Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm beforehand, 9am to 9pm from Saturday 29 to Monday 31 August, then 9am to 5pm from Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 September.
• Noise: 020 7361 3002, 24 hours.
• Street cleaning problems: 020 7361 3001.
• Council housing, including damage to Carnival fencing: 0800 137 111, 24 hours.
• Street trading: 020 7341 5147, Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 1pm.
• Police: 101, or 999 in an emergency.

(RBKC, helplines and contact details)

A post-Carnival meeting for residents is set for Thursday 10 September, 6.30pm to 8pm, at The Tabernacle, 34-35 Powis Square, W11 2AY. (RBKC, Notting Hill Carnival 2026)

What it means for you

If you live inside the footprint, the practical deadlines are Saturday 29 August for moving your car out, and 5pm on Thursday 27 August if you want the council to clean your frontage afterwards. Have a bill or bank statement with your address ready for the cordons, and put nothing out for collection on the Monday or Tuesday.

If you live in Kensington, Holland Park or Campden and were not planning to go, the new Notting Hill Gate closure and the diversion along Kensington High Street and Kensington Church Street mean slow traffic on those roads on both days, and Holland Park station is shut from 3pm. District and Circle line trains do not stop at Notting Hill Gate between 11am and 6pm, so a journey home on those lines will need to end at High Street Kensington or Bayswater, the next stops either side.

If you are going, the organiser’s route in via Paddington is the one to follow, Ladbroke Grove is not an option at all, and there is no Night Tube or Night Overground on either night. The Children’s Day parade on the Sunday runs 10am to 6pm; the sound systems on Monday stop at 7pm.

For everything else happening in the borough over the bank holiday, see things to do in Kensington.