Notting Hill Carnival climaxes with joyful celebrations

People were partying atop floats followed by feathered mas bands as the smell of jerk chicken filled the air.
Notting Hill Carnival 2023
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John Dunne @jhdunne28 August 2023

Colourfully-costumed revellers paraded through the streets of west London on Monday marking the climax of Notting Hill Carnival.

The annual celebration of Caribbean culture and history saw thousands take part in an exuberant adult parade.

People were partying atop floats followed by feathered mas bands dancing to the beat.

Meanwhile the sweet, smoky scent of jerk chicken filled the side streets where sound systems played everything from rare groove to house, samba, reggae and ska.

It is expected that more than two million people will have taken to the streets of Notting Hill by the end of the bank holiday 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.

On Sunday evening the Metropolitan Police said the mood at the 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” following “information” that some people had travelled to the area carrying knives.

In an update released just before midnight on Sunday, the Met said 85 people had been arrested, including 11 for sexual assault and 10 for assault on a police officer.

Dozens of officers were seen on Monday patrolling local parks and searching through bins for suspicious items and under the tarpaulin laid down to protect the grass.

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