More than a million people are set to descend on west London for the Notting Hill Carnival, which will see performers dance through the streets in flamboyant costumes for a spectacular parade.
Thousands of Met Police officers will be deployed at the festival which is a ‘fixture in London’s cultural calendar’ and attracts similar numbers each year.
Notting Hill is one of the longest-running street parties in the UK and celebrates Caribbean culture with vividly costumed performers taking part in a parade through the streets with dancing and music.
The carnival is the biggest of its kind in Europe and is billed by organisers as ‘the greatest community-led event on the planet’, taking place every August bank holiday weekend.
But carnivals in the past have also been marred by violence. There were eight stabbings and 275 arrests at the 2023 event. Around 7,000 officers will be on duty throughout the weekend to police the event this year.
Members of Mangrove Steelband performing during Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening
A pub is boarded up in preparation for the Notting Hill Carnival in London
The Notting Hill Carnival parade route will take place over a three and a half mile loop, beginning and ending at Westbourne Park Tube station
Businesses and residents have boarded up their properties in preparation for the carnival.
On Saturday, performers competed in Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening, which is the UK’s biggest steelband competition and sees five bands play a ten-minute composition from memory with no sheet music allowed.
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Children’s Day is held on Sunday, featuring family-friendly activities and a parade, where youngsters in colourful costumes are encouraged to dance in the streets.
It is sometimes known as Family Day.
The Adults’ Parade is held on Monday, described by organisers as the climax of the carnival with ‘party vibes’ – but it is also where most arrests are made.
Met spokesperson Commander Charmain Brenyah said she had grown up near where the event is held in west London and has ‘many happy memories of the music, costumes, floats and fantastic atmosphere’.
But she added: ‘Sadly, however, we know that for a minority of people, Carnival is an opportunity to commit crime or to seek out violent confrontation.’
The Met have promised a very significant and proportionate policing presence.
‘Officers have been briefed around their powers and they are aware of their powers,’ explained Commander Brenyah.
‘They’re going to be acting proportionately. The main focus of the event is make sure we support a safe and secure carnival.’
The Met said it will be deploying a specialist crowd management cell for the second year in a row, to monitor crowd density and flow.
In order to staff the event, Met officers will be joined by colleagues from the City of London Police and the British Transport Police.
Members of Mangrove Steelband performing during Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening
A person dancing as participants perform during Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening
Participants performing during Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening
Participants performing during Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening
Crowds pack the streets on the second day of Notting Hill Carnival on August 28, 2023
A young man waves around a machete at Notting Hill Carnival in West London last year
Rick Prior, chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said many ‘hard-working’ officers will be ‘missing valuable time to rest and be at home with loved ones’ to police the event.
‘We wish our hard-working colleagues a safe and secure policing operation at the Notting Hill Carnival,’ he said.
‘Many are missing valuable time to rest and be at home with loved ones to work across the bank holiday weekend at this demanding event.’
Transport for London (TfL) urged people travelling to the carnival to plan their journeys in advance as it warned some stations could be much busier than usual.
The Labour Party described the event – which was first held in the 1960s – as a ‘vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture and black history through music, art and dance’ in a social media post on Saturday.
