Police made 169 arrests at Notting Hill Carnival by 7.45pm on Sunday, with offences including drug and weapon possession, assaults and sexual offences, the Metropolitan Police said.
The vast majority of arrests took place within the carnival perimeter, while 27 were made on approaches to the event in west London.
Officers also responded to two knife assaults, including one involving a slash to the leg and another to the hand. Neither incident resulted in life-changing or life-threatening injuries.
Live facial recognition technology was linked to 29 of the arrests. The system also identified 26 registered sex offenders who were spoken to by officers, with three arrested for allegedly breaching their conditions.
Commander Claire Smart, who is leading the policing operation, said the overall atmosphere had been “overwhelmingly positive and celebratory” despite the number of arrests.
She said organisers had made significant improvements to crowd management and stewarding, adding that a proactive policing approach had contributed to a reduction in serious violence compared with previous years.
More than 7,000 officers have been deployed across west London over the bank holiday weekend, with the carnival’s second day due to take place on Monday.
