Notting Hill Carnival: Adults day under way in west London as event marks 60th anniversary

Day three of the Notting Hill Carnival is under way, with the main parade to come and tens of thousands of people in the streets.

Bank Holiday Monday marks the Adults Day of the annual Caribbean festival in west London, with the main parade starting at 8pm.

This year's carnival, Europe's biggest street party attracting millions of people to Kensington, marks its 60th anniversary.

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said that the "mood has been overwhelmingly positive and celebratory" at the carnival, while making 243 arrests in the first full day of the event.

Commander Claire Smart, who is in charge of the policing operation, said: "While we have seen a significant number of arrests and interventions by officers, the result of that proactive approach is a welcome reduction in the levels of serious violence seen at the event in previous years.

"Nobody involved in the delivery of the event is complacent, however."

The Notting Hill Carnival traces its roots to the hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Caribbean - the Windrush generation - who came to the UK between 1948 and 1971 to help rebuild the country after the Second World War.

Ahead of the event's 60th year, the mayor of London announced an additional £4.66m in funding, after reports last year that the carnival faced financial difficulties.

Sir Sadiq Khan said in March he was "stepping in with the support that they need to meet their requirements and ensure that this hugely important event for our capital can take place".

Ian Comfort, chair of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, added that he welcomed the support, and said: "The funding announced today will allow us to introduce the enhanced safety and operational measures required at this scale.

"It will also enable us to assume specific operational responsibilities that have historically been managed by the Metropolitan Police, allowing them to focus on their core policing duties during the event. Carnival's scale brings with it both opportunities and responsibilities."

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That also followed a report from the London Assembly that found the Met Police had raised "concerns about the risk of a crush scenario at Notting Hill Carnival, due to high crowd density and inadequate stewarding provision from the organisers" earlier this year.

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