BBC RADIO 1Xtra’s DJ Ace and Capital Xtra’s Remel London will host the main stage at this year’s virtual Notting Hill Carnival.

For the first time in its 54-year history, Notting Hill Carnival will not be on the streets due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The online celebrations will kick off from the UK’s
biggest screen in Piccadilly Circus, which will display a live countdown and exclusive video footage.

Performances, interviews and entertainment will stream across four channels, starting from Saturday 29 August and continuing throughout the bank holiday weekend.

The programming is designed to fuse some of the modern elements with the traditional arts of carnival.

DJ Ace and Remel London will host the main stage channel from 8-11pm on Sunday and Monday.

Simultaneously, Remel London’s Capital Xtra colleagues Shayna Marie and Yinka, who present the station’s breakfast show, and Ras Kwame will host the sound system channel.

DJ, presenter and Caribbean music specialist Martin Jay Giselle Carter will host the parade channel, which will focus on the J’ouvert and Mas bands, from 12pm to 8pm on the Sunday and Monday.

A spotlight will be shone on pan music during The Steelband Show presented by actor, writer and comedian Jason Lewis and storyteller Reema Samuel. Calypso and Groovy Soca will be celebrated by the culture channel hosts – vocalist and founder of Gemz Mas, Giselle Carter and writer and MC Coco P.

Stand-up comedian and presenter Aurie Styla and journalist Claire Clottey will also present on the culture channel.

Organisers said: “The move to digital both encourages the safety and wellbeing of the Carnival community, the general public and local residents, but also allows the Notting Hill Carnival to grow as a global spectacle online, for the world to enjoy safely from their home.”

For more details on the lineup and how to watch across the bank holiday weekend, visit www.nhcarnival.org.