A mixture of adults and children adorned in jewels, glittery wings, belts and headdress danced and leapt down the street followed by floats pumping out bass and music in West London on Sunday.
The celebrations opened at dawn with J’ouvert, a paint and powder street gathering rooted in Caribbean tradition, before the Children’s Day parade filled the streets with feathers, sequins and steel drums.
Floats blasted reggae, soca and drum and bass while crowds waved flags, danced and lined up for jerk chicken, curry goat and rum punch.
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People taking part in J’ouvert before the children’s parade were splashed with paint.[/caption]
Fast-paced drumming could be heard and felt before the first parade arrived, decorating the street with flutes, brass instruments, steel drums, dancers and costumes including giant colourful wings.
On other streets, towering sound systems and stages, including one for BBC Radio 1 Xtra, had been set up playing reggae, dub and drum and bass, with groups of friends, some in costume and others wearing their country’s flag, dancing around them.
About one million people are expected to be on the streets of west London for the event, the Metropolitan Police said previously, with about 7,000 police officers on duty across the capital on Sunday and Monday.
The Metropolitan Police said as of 7.45pm on Sunday, there had been 140 arrests – 105 at the carnival and 35 on approaches to carnival as a result of proactive policing interventions.
Fifteen arrests were for assaults on police – with one officer requiring hospital treatment for injuries to their hand – while there were 21 for possession of an offensive weapon, 25 for possession of cannabis and six for possession of class A drugs.
Four people were arrested on suspicion of sexual offences and two for robbery.
The force said additional powers had been authorised which remain in force until 2am on Monday and again from 10am on Monday to 2am Tuesday.
Carnival has faced financial pressures this year, but organisers stressed its resilience. Chairman Ian Comfort welcomed delegations from carnivals in Berlin, Miami and Tenerife, while Kensington and Chelsea’s mayor hailed it as “one of the greatest street parties in the world… celebrating Caribbean culture and community.”
The event also paused for a 72-second silence to remember the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire and others linked to Carnival’s history.
Notting Hill Carnival runs for two days, with Monday’s adult parade and sound systems expected to bring even bigger crowds.
