Notting Hill Carnival revels in 60th anniversary celebrations

Notting Hill Carnival has celebrated its 60th anniversary with three days of revelry fuelled by drummers, dancers and colourful costumes.

Europe's biggest street party continued on Monday with the adults' parade, live bands, more than 30 static sound systems and the scent of jerk chicken floating through the air.

The carnival, which celebrates Caribbean culture and history, was first held in west London in 1966.

"We are the greatest when we come together as people," said Jackie, from Jay Dee's Catering, who has been trading at the event for 15 years with her family business.

The three-day event began with a steelband competition on Saturday, followed by the children's parade and carnival on Sunday.

Across the bank holiday weekend, more than two million people were expected to join in the celebrations, featuring thousands of parade performers in sequins, feathers and bejewelled headpieces.

At 15:00 BST, a 72-second silence was held to remember the 72 people who were killed in the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, close to where the carnival is held.

Soca band musician Evan said he would be spending Sunday performing "all of the traditional Calypso and Soca songs".

"Caribbean music is everything," he said.

"It's a culture, it's a lifestyle. How we walk, how we talk, how we smile, how we eat - it's a combination of a lot of things."

Soul-Rebel Marley said performing at this year's carnival was "a blessing", after he played on the Rampage Sound stage on Sunday.

The grandson of Bob Marley said he did not feel pressure from his family's musical history, and instead described it as "a guiding light".

Sophie, Rachel and Sara flew in from the Netherlands to perform in the long-running Mangrove Mas band.

"We took part in the parade in Rotterdam, but now we're ready for the real one," Sophie said.

For Rachel, the carnival is all about "the energy, the colours, the music".

"And, most importantly, the cohesion of all the vibes and cultures coming together," she said.

Patricia said for her, Carnival was about "carrying the ancestral presence".

"A lot of people tend to lose the whole purpose behind the carnival," she said. "A lot of them are more into revelry rather than portraying a theme and enacting something.

"I feel like carrying an ancestral presence, because if they didn't go before me, then I couldn't do this. It's almost like I'm paying tribute to my ancestors."

Tashma, owner of glitter and body art stand Litty Glitty, said that festival adornment was "not just putting on glitter".

"It's deeper than that, and it brings everything to life," she said.

"You find so much glitter in festivals but people forget that costumes like these originated from our culture.

"My mum is from Barbados, my dad is from Jamaica, but we are all one. When we celebrate today, whether it's glitter, your hair, what nails you decide to do - every little detail matters.

"It always goes back to our culture because we want to make sure that people understand and remember that this isn't just a big party; we have history and that's never going to be forgotten."

For many traders, Monday's preparations began early.

Lorraine, from Luv Jerk, said her team began setting up at 02:00 BST in order to prepare for the day ahead.

"It is really hard work but it is really fun," she said.

"This being its 60th year, we're really excited to bring all the energy and the great food and to serve all the lovely customers.

"Ackee and saltfish is my favourite dish but it's also the Jamaican national dish. I just love it, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

Jackie, from Jay Dee's Catering, said this 60th year was also an anniversary for her.

"I've done Carnival for 15 years," she said. "It's very hard. I got three hours' sleep last night and I'm back here again.

"Most of the customers, they come again every year, we see the same faces.

"It's such an exciting time, coming together, seeing all of these lovely costumes and lovely people – we are the greatest when we come together as people and come as one."

Down the street, Christine from Jam Vybz Kitchen was preparing for her first time working at Notting Hill Carnival.

"We have jerk pork, we have rice and peas, we have jerk chicken, curry goat, stewed chicken, fried dumpling and plantain," she said. "We're keeping it simple but authentic Jamaican style.

"As a Jamaican, jerk chicken is one of our main dishes and jerk chicken is what we are proud of. We are proud of knowing how it's done and need to make sure the authenticity of it."

For Lizzy, who has been attending the carnival for years, an early start was necessary in order to find a prime spot for the parade.

"We've been getting old with Notting Hill Carnival," she said.

Reflecting on what the day meant to her, she said: "Carnival is for everybody and it was made to get people to socialise, all different countries.

"All their problems have gone away because they've come to Carnival for a happy day."

Speaking ahead of the weekend, the event's chief executive, Matthew Phillip, said it was "unfair that Carnival is always targeted as a cause" of violence, adding: "It is a victim of crime rather than a perpetrator."

Across the weekend, more than 3,000 stewards were on duty, double the usual number, and more than 7,000 Metropolitan Police officers were deployed to west London.

Ahead of the event, the force said officers would "relentlessly" pursue the "small minority who come intending to do harm", and had banned more than 330 people from attending as part of bail conditions.

The Met Police said 243 people were arrested on Sunday during the first full day of Notting Hill Carnival, for offences including possession of drugs, assaults, sexual offences and possession of weapons.

Two people were treated for non-life-threatening slash wounds from knife assaults.

Last year, the Met made 528 arrests across the two main days of the carnival, including 167 for drug offences, 50 for possession of an offensive weapon, 21 for sexual offences, four for violence with injury and 49 for other violence.

There were two stabbings, neither of which resulted in life-threatening injuries.

In 2024, there were eight stabbings, one of them fatal. Another person was killed in a separate attack.

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