Party vibes are set to rumble through the streets of London as this year’s Notting Hill Carnival reaches its climax.
It is showtime for the colourfully costumed mas bands who will wind their way along the adult parade route through west London in a celebration of Caribbean culture and history.
Sound systems, playing everything from rare groove to house and samba, plus live stages ensure there is dancing in the streets.
On Sunday evening the Metropolitan Police said the mood at carnival had been “good-natured throughout the day” as they announced that a Section 60 order, providing officers with additional search powers, would be imposed overnight until 2am.
The force described it as a “precautionary step” taken after talks with community representatives “in order to locate weapons so that we can prevent any violence taking place and keep carnival-goers safe”.
It followed “information” that some people had travelled to the area carrying knives and by Sunday at 6.20pm there had been 24 arrests for offences including drunk and disorderly, drugs possession, sexual assault and assault on an emergency worker.
There were bright smiles, detailed colourful costumes and plenty of dancing as the Children’s Day Parade brought cheer to the carnival on Sunday.
It is expected that more than two million people will have taken to the streets of west London over the bank holiday weekend as the carnival, Europe’s biggest street party, celebrates two landmark anniversaries.
The introduction of sound systems and mas bands 50 years ago transformed it into a large-scale event and the docking of the Empire Windrush 75 years ago heralded mass immigration from the Caribbean.
