Thousands of revellers descended on west London before dawn on Sunday as Notting Hill Carnival opened with its traditional J’ouvert celebration, covering one another in brightly coloured paint, powder and mud.
The early-morning ritual began at 6am near the Canal Way roundabout, marking the start of the 60th anniversary edition of the Caribbean festival. Participants danced through the streets as music, drumming and the first sounds of Carnival filled the area around Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove.
J’ouvert, a tradition rooted in Caribbean Carnival culture, is followed by the official opening ceremony on Great Western Road at 10am. Sunday is designated as the family and children’s day, with young masqueraders taking part in a parade of decorated costumes before the main sound systems and stages begin operating.
The event continues on Bank Holiday Monday with the main parade, featuring mas bands, steel orchestras, soca and calypso performers.
The celebrations are taking place under a major security operation, with more than 7,000 Metropolitan Police officers deployed across west London over the bank holiday weekend. The force has said additional cameras and live facial recognition technology will be used, alongside measures aimed at preventing serious violence and weapons offences.
Section 60 powers have been authorised in the Carnival area and surrounding districts, allowing officers to conduct searches for weapons without reasonable suspicion and require people to remove face coverings used to conceal their identity. A separate dispersal order is also in place during both days of the event.
The Met said the operation had been informed by intelligence and historic crime data. In 2025, officers made 528 arrests over the two main days, including 167 for drug offences and 50 for possession of offensive weapons. Four stabbing or slashing incidents were reported, although none caused life-threatening injuries.
Police also recorded 55 arrests for assaults on officers, with two officers requiring hospital treatment.
This year’s Carnival has received £4.66 million in additional funding from the Mayor of London, on top of £946,300 previously committed by City Hall. The money is intended to support crowd-management improvements, increased stewarding and the use of new technology following an independent review of the event’s safety arrangements.
Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said the anniversary would celebrate six decades of Caribbean history, creativity and community in London. The event grew from a local celebration first held in 1966 and has since become one of the world’s largest street festivals.
A 72-second silence is due to take place at 3pm on both Sunday and Monday in remembrance of the 72 people who died in the Grenfell Tower fire, as well as members of the Carnival community who have died.
