Thousands of people showed up for the 25^th anniversary of Kingston Carnival yesterday (Sunday, 7 September).

Starting at noon outside the Guildhall, attendees watched a procession led by the Mayor of Kingston, Cllr Noel Hadjimichael, and Kingston's Tipstaff and Town Crier, Mike Seygal.

The procession, which was joined by various local community groups dressed in costumes similar to those that worn at Nottinghill Carnival, proceeded along Eden Street, Clarence Street, through the Ancient Market, and back to the Guildhall to finish.

There were lots of fabulous costumes at Kingston Carnival (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Groups involved in the procession included local Morris Dancers, the Kingston Chinese Association, Brazilian martial arts group, Capoeira, Guided Dogs, Save the World Club, and much more.

Lots of local groups joined the procession (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

After the procession, Cllr Hadjimichael welcomed attendees to the carnival, followed by speeches from Kingston's Race equality champion, John Azah OBE, and Prabha Shetty, who both organised the event.

In her speech, Shetty said: "Thank you to everyone who made this happen. John, Rachael, and the KREC trustees have worked Tirelessly to pull together what we believe is the biggest and best event in the borough.

"It's not just a carnival – it's the celebration of Kingston 2025, a nod to our rich history, marking 1100 years since King Athelstan was crowned right here.

"That's a lot of candles on the cake. He didn't have a carnival, but I'd like to think he'd have approved of the carnival dancers and all the yummy food stalls."

The Mayor of Kingston welcomed attendees to the carnival (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

She added: "This year's theme is 'Promoting Unity in Communities, Richness in Culture', and isn't that exactly what we need right now? With so much noise and negativity in the world, today is our chance to turn up the volume on joy, togetherness, and celebration."

From 1.45pm on the Community Stage, there was music and dance from diverse communities, including Chinese Association, Milaap, Global Arts Kingston, Kingston Institute of Tamil Culture, Bhangra beats, and much more.

In the grass area of Kingston's All Saints Church, Green Zone promoted the importance of sustainability and recycling while the children's area with its rides, facepainting, and inflatables kept the little ones entertained.

There was also a variety of local stalls set up selling food and drinks, including Up the Float, which sells a variety of delicious prosecco and champagne-based cocktails.

There were a variety of food and drinks stalls set up (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Moreover, the Market Place Stage kept attendees dancing until the carnival's end at 8pm with a variety of bands performing, organised by KREC and Banquet Records.

In true carnival style, Shy FX performed at the end of the event as the carnival's headlining act.

Speaking about the carnival, John Azah OBE told Kingston Nub News: "It's just marvellous - thanks so much to everybody for coming to celebrate our 25^th anniversary of Kingston Carnival.

 "I really couldn't have asked for anymore than we've got today. It was a really long journey to get to where we have got to, but if you look at what is happening with people coming from everywhere and wanting to come to Kingston to celebrate with us, it is the greatest honour of all.

"So, we're having a good time, and we hope that we can continue to do this because Kingston is the best place to live and work, thank you."

John Azah OBE helped organise the carnival (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Kingston Council's Leader, Cllr Andreas Kirsch, added: "It's wonderful having Kingston Carnival today. This year is the carnival's 25^th anniversary and it is bigger than ever.

"There's so many people enjoying it, celebrating our diversity, our unity in diversity the community and coming together. Thank you to John for organising it."

It truly was a fantastic day enjoyed by many.

One local resident, Michael Cox shared his joy, saying: "We're loving it. So, we came to see the parades come through and now we're enjoying the smell of jerk chicken and rum punch filling the air."

Another local resident added: "It's a great atmosphere with lovely people around and good music."