Notting Hill Carnival

It's Britain's — and Europe's — greatest excuse for dancing in the streets: an extravaganza of spice, colour, and sound; a riot of eye-poppin' costumes; a heady summer storm of soca, calypso, reggae, and all combinations thereof. There's nothing quite like Carnival, and we open up with a steel-band overture, in honour of the annual Panorama Champions of Steel Competition.

Now groove your way over to Next Steps.

Carnival chairman Chris Mullard has pointed out the significance of the 2007 event as the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade and wants the revellers to acknowledge — between the drinking and the dancing — that slavery continues around the world today in many forms. Musically, we respect those wishes with cuts from the In Crowd ("Slave Ship") and the Wailers ("Slave Driver").

Protest and celebrate at the same time, in our Carnival Deep Cuts.

Remembrance of the 1807 Slave Trade Act continues in this final batch of Carnival tracks, courtesy of Willi Williams ("Slave"), whose "Armagideon Time" — originally recorded with producer Coxsone Dodd — is featured here in a cover by the Clash that was issued as a B-side to "London Calling". Joy Denalane adds a modern, historical context with "Soweto '76-'06" from her English-language album Born & Raised.

Championed by Prince Charles, loved by natives and tourists alike, the Notting Hill Carnival is the local street party that's heard 'round the world. Nothing can prepare you for experiencing the festival's colours, spices, and sounds in person — nowhere else in Europe is there such a vital blend of calypso, samba, steel bands, soca, static sound systems, and mas (masquerade) bands. Mas forms the spine of Carnival and has its roots in Trinidad, during the era when African slaves were permitted to create costumes and play music in the six weeks before Easter. Two thousand-seven marks the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.