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Notting Hill Carnival returns on Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August 2026, filling the streets between Ladbroke Grove, Westbourne Park and Kensal Road with sound systems, mas bands and around a million people over the two days. It is Europe s largest street festival and it is fundamentally a marathon, not a sprint. Almost everyone who has a bad Carnival has one because they got the drinks wrong: too strong, too early, not enough water, and something made of glass in a bag.
This guide covers the practical side of Notting Hill Carnival drinks, from what actually works in a crowd to how to handle the bit that catches most people out, which is what you drink at home before and after.
If you take one thing from this, take that. Glass in a crowd that dense is a genuine hazard, it gets broken, and broken glass on a road where people are dancing barefoot by four in the afternoon is a problem for everybody. Cans, cartons and plastic only. Many people carry a small backpack with cans of lager, a couple of soft drinks and water, and that is exactly the right kit.
Stewards and police may check bags along the route and can ask you to dispose of things at their discretion. Being sensible about what you carry means you spend the day dancing rather than negotiating.
Cold lager in cans is the workhorse. It is light, it is around four to five percent, it is sealed until you want it and it goes down easily in the heat. Something crisp and clean like a pale lager beats anything heavy or hoppy when you are standing in the sun. Cider works for the same reasons.
Ready-mixed cans are the other reliable option, particularly rum-based ones which sit right at the heart of Carnival s Caribbean roots. They are pre-diluted, which is exactly what you want, and they save you carrying a bottle plus mixers plus a cup.
What does not work is neat spirits from a hip flask, anything that needs ice, anything you have to pour, and anything above about eight percent. Carnival days are long and hot. The people still going strong at six in the evening are the ones drinking steadily at low strength, not the ones who opened a bottle of rum at eleven in the morning.
Carry more water than you think you need and drink one bottle for every two or three alcoholic drinks. It sounds obvious and almost nobody does it. Between sun, dancing and several hours on your feet, dehydration is what ruins the day and it is entirely avoidable.
Eat properly before you go and eat again on the route. The food is one of the best things about Carnival, and jerk chicken, curry goat, roti, festival dumplings and rice and peas are all better than anything you will find at a music festival. Eating at two in the afternoon rather than at eight in the evening is what keeps the day going.
Start later than you think. Sound systems typically get going late morning and are required to wind down early evening, so an eleven o clock start is plenty. There is no need to be on the route at nine.
Assume you will walk. Road closures across W10 and W11 are extensive on both days, several nearby Tube stations operate on restricted arrangements, and some are exit-only or closed altogether at peak times. Check Transport for London on the day rather than assuming your usual station will be open, and agree a meeting point with your group that is a good ten minutes walk from the route, because phone signal in the crowd is unreliable and finding people is genuinely hard.
Do not plan to drive anywhere near it, and do not plan to drink and then drive home from anywhere. That should not need saying but the bank holiday makes people optimistic.
Most of the actual drinking around Carnival happens at home, either before you set off or afterwards when everyone piles back to somebody s flat with sore feet.
For the pre-Carnival gathering, keep it light and cold. Chilled beer, a big jug of rum punch built long with plenty of juice, or a bottle of something sparkling if you are marking the start of the weekend. Get everything into the fridge the night before, because a warm start is a warm day.
For afterwards, think about what people will actually want at seven in the evening after ten hours outside. Cold beer, cider and something soft, plus water. This is also the point where a bottle of rum comes into its own, poured long over ice with ginger beer and lime rather than neat.
Stock up before the weekend if you can. Shops across Notting Hill and the surrounding streets get busy, many close early or board up along the route, and the queues on Monday afternoon are not something you want to join. Have a look at the beer range, the spirits selection for rum, and the pre-mixed cases if you are catering for a group rather than yourself.
You almost certainly will, because everyone underestimates a two-day bank holiday. We deliver across London inside the M25 in 30 to 45 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including bank holidays, which is exactly when most places are shut. Bear in mind that road closures around the Carnival footprint on the Sunday and Monday will affect access to some W10 and W11 addresses, so ordering to a friend s place slightly outside the route, or ordering the night before, is the smarter move.
Check the areas we cover, order ahead of the weekend where you can, and have a brilliant Carnival.
Please drink responsibly. Drinks House 247 operates a Challenge 21 policy - you must be 18 or over to order, and our drivers will ask for photo ID if you look under 21.
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