Agencies/London
Revellers enjoyed a dry start to Notting Hill Carnival as the weather held up for the start of Europe’s largest street festival.
Thousands of festival-goers descended on west London as Carnival Sunday Family Day got under way.
Up to a million people from all over the planet are expected to take part over the festivities’ two days, which are led by the British West Indian community.
Forecasters have warned that it will be a rain-soaked edition this year, but conditions remained grey yet dry throughout the morning and early afternoon yesterday.
The atmosphere on Family Day is usually laid back, with workshops and costume prizes, but the Bank Holiday Monday has a reputation for gang-related violence.
William Medley, 35, a tech firm worker who lives in nearby Bayswater - who brought his three-old-son to the party, said: “It’s an opportunity for kids to run around and see something different, interact with different people and experience the food, smells, sounds and dancing. “It’s a fantastic party atmosphere.”
But Medley’s wife, Carolina Quintana, a financial services account manager, also 35, said she worried about safety.
She said: “We have seen fights in the past - two years ago there was a big fight on the Monday - so I wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing a child on the Monday or in the evening.
“We come for a couple of hours on Family Day, but towards the end of the day things get a bit heated up and there can be trouble.”
Police this week arrested dozens of people in dawn raids against potential troublemakers ahead of the street party.
Police officers dance in the street at the Notting Hill Carnival in west London yesterday.
