I have a confession: I cannot stand Notting Hill carnival. There, I said it.

There are far too many people, you end up walking instead of dancing for hours, if you lose someone they’re lost forever and God forbid you need to go to the loo. I didn’t know Manchester Carnival was even a thing until the week of. I didn’t have high hopes, (hence why I didn’t take any decent pictures, sorry!), but figured, why not give it a go.

Manchester Caribbean Carnival is based in Alexandra Park in Moss Side, (about a 15min drive from the city centre). It’s immediately different from Notting Hill in the sense that it’s all within a park as opposed to endless streets. There is security checking bags at all the entrances, giving some peace of mind if you have any concerns around safety. There are street parties afterward on and around Claremont Road, so that’s an option if you want to continue to party after carnival finishes, (it has a hard stop at 8pm).

The weekend starts on the Saturday with the parade and J’ouvert. For anyone that doesn’t know, J’ouvert is an early morning street parade, (think pre-sunrise early!). People dance and cover themselves with mud and paint – it’s usually the starting event for any carnival in the UK and across the Caribbean. There’s defo some traditional elements from slavery in there but, I can’t lie, I don’t know the ins and outs. I missed this but I reckon this would be really fun to be a part of. I think the Saturday is kids day too but if you go with a good group of people on great vibes, you’ll have a good time.

The Sunday, however, was straight up LIT. There are various stages in the park which all play different music. We found on the Sunday, more of these stages we’re playing dancehall, bashment, etc. For me, it was a little jarring to be hearing afrobeats and drill at times. I personally think that carnival is about all things from the islands, so this was, literal, music to my ears.

I had the absolute best time I’ve ever had at a carnival in the UK! It was busy enough for a vibe but not so busy that you couldn’t dance comfortably. People were dancing non-stop, screaming along to the songs and proudly flying their flags.

If you’ve never been to carnival, or have been traumatised by Notting Hill, give Manchester Carnival a go next year!