Thousands packed out streets in colourful outfits for Notting Hill Carnival’s ‘family day’.
Festival goers watched on as floats and hundreds of performers wearing vibrant costumes processed through streets in west London for the annual celebration of Caribbean culture.
An estimated two million people are expected to attend the festival, one of the largest of its kind, over the weekend.
Spotted amongst the crowds was BBC presenter and radio DJ Maya Jama, who was seen carrying a drink and enjoying the party on Portobello Road.
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.
But carnivals in the past have also been marred by violence. There were eight stabbings and 275 arrests at the 2023 event.
This year 7,000 police officers have been deployed onto the streets of Kensington to keep order during the festivities.
One ex-inspector claimed that Notting Hill Carnival is ‘the ultimate in two-tier policing’ as more than a million people are set to descend on west London to enjoy the festivities.
Despite the high number of arrests and heavy police presence, a retired Met Police detective chief inspector has alleged that officers are hesitant to make arrests during the event for fears of being called racist.
Mike Neville spoke to the Daily Telegraph where he leaned into the growing conspiracy theory that two-tier policing exists in Britain.
He said: If the behaviour of the Notting Hill Carnival was replicated at football matches or any other event it would be banned.’
Mr Neville has claimed that many revellers at the event openly smoke illegal drugs in front of police officers without fear of arrest as proof of his allegation.
Scotland Yard rejected claims that it applies two-tier policing at the event.
Commander Chairman Brenyah told the Telegraph that the force has search powers that will use to take weapons off the street and intervene with anyone committing violence.
Commander Brenyah did admit that the sheer weight of numbers attending presents a potential danger and is a ‘serious cause for concern.’
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.
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.
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.