From Will Smith to Leigh-Anne - all the Notting Hill Carnival tips
20 August 2025, 17:14
Notting Hill Carnival 2025 is approaching fast, but who better to ask than the likes of Capital XTRA celebrity friends, including the likes of Idris Elba and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, sharing their best advice for the bank holiday celebrations.
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Notting Hill Carnival is back and bigger than ever for 2025, and over here at Capital XTRA, we have some of the biggest names in the business to give you their own tips and tricks, including the likes of Idris Elba and Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
As well as the event taking place over August, we also have our own festivities going on over here that you are not going to want to miss out on!
- Capital XTRA Carnival 2025: On-air schedule & specials
- Notting Hill Carnival: Inside the history behind the celebration
- Notting Hill Carnival: When it’s happening & all the details
So, whether it’s your first time or your hundredth, there’s always something that can be improved about your experience, and these are the tips for you!
Little Mix singer, Leigh-Anne who is a known regular to the annual event, shared her own pearls of wisdom to the breakfast presenters, and it had to do with the dreaded commute home.
She said: “Get an exit route. Leave on time, get an exit route. Because I’ve had some nightmares. Literally in my big-up feathers trying to get out.”
Wise words by the pop star!
Next up came none other than the iconic and charismatic Tyla, who knows a thing or two about shaking a leg.
Her advice was: “Your waist has to whine at the same tempo, like you need to be in it.”
From the waistline queen herself, those words feel particularly poignant!
Will Smith came into XTRA Breakfast and became enlightened to the festivities of Notting Hill Carnival and made a very valid assumption about the event.
Joking with Shayna Marie and Robert Bruce, he said: “Are the times that you’ve been there the things you can talk about?
"Or are there things that just stay at the Carnival?”
The presenters replied: “Bit of both.”
Where is the lie? Will has clearly clocked on to the fun the event can bring.
Idris Elba, an expert on the event, also shared a story that came with an important lesson about the food and toilet situation!
He admitted: “I used to stop by the street foods….but it got tricky one time. You know them tricky ones where you’re like, rah! Now you just try to find a spot.”
And finally, Michael Dapaah gave perhaps the best advice of them all. The London-born comedian advised us to: “Get stuck in.
You know what I’m saying, catch a one whine.”
So, there you have it!
The words and wisdom to get you through the bank holiday weekend, whilst also having lots of fun, of course!
You can see how we are celebrating over here at XTRA right here, and get involved with all the fun!
