 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Crowds join carnival celebrations
Hundreds of thousands of revellers have taken to the streets of west London for the Notting Hill Carnival.
Giant Popeye puppets and chocolate-smeared dancers joined scores of costumed masquerade artists to perform along the three-and-a-half mile route.
About 1.5 million people are expected to attend the carnival, billed as Europe’s biggest street party, over the next two days.
The carnival’s main procession takes place on Monday.
Sarah Manners, 29, from Brixton in south London, took part in the parade with her seven-year-old daughter, Shamira.
Ms Manners said: "There has been a little bit of drizzle but the vibe here as is as good as ever.
"It’s nice to be here with my daughter for the first time."
We have worked really hard with police and we are keeping our fingers crossed that everything will be ok
Chris Boothman, carnival chief
Revellers are enjoying the sound of steelpan bands, as well as almost 40 static sound systems playing music including traditional soca or calypso, reggae, hip-hop jazz, soul, house and garage.
There are also hundreds of exotic food and drink stalls.
Ruth Thomsett, one of the carnival’s organisers, said: "You’ve got the food, you’ve got food from all the islands, as well as African and Chinese food, Greek and Moroccan.
"What a chance to come and have a really good feast."
Police, who had made several arrests in the week building up to the event, said celebrations had got off to a peaceful start, with only five people arrested at the carnival so far.
The carnival is a celebration of Caribbean culture
Chris Boothman, the carnival chief, said security was at its best ever after the event secured its biggest budget in years thanks to a new sponsorship deal.
"We have worked really hard with police and we are keeping our fingers crossed that everything will be okay.
"We have had more money this year than we have in the last five. I think the result today is a good one."
Thousands of Metropolitan Police officers are on duty at the carnival.
Officers have also been carrying out regular stop-and-search operations in an effort to disrupt gang activity.
All are currently in custody at various London police stations, except the 31-year-old who has been released with no further action.
This year, the procession began at the earlier time of 0900 BST with a children’s parade. Sunday’s and Monday’s celebrations are due to at 1830 BST.
Are you going to the Notting Hill Carnival Send us your pictures and videos.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124. If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.
Related News:
- Tiesto, Diplo Join Forces For ‘C’Mon’ Video
- Jay-Z And Beyonce Join Alicia Keys During New York Concert
- Sony, Samsung Join Campaign To Push 3-D TV Sets
- Wireless Carriers Join Forces for Mobile-Apps Project
- Lady Gaga, Bono Join ‘We Are The World’ Remake
- Justin Timberlake, Drake, More Join Timbaland At L.A. Concert
- Ke$ha, Drake Join Paramore, Weezer At Bamboozle
- Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus, Jon Bon Jovi Join Simon Cowell’s Haiti Single
- Madonna, Bill Clinton, Many More Join ‘Hope For Haiti’ Lineup
- Bono and Keys join Haiti benefit
Details :
Submited at Sunday, August 30th, 2009 at 9:00 am on celeb by alliana
Comment RSS 2.0 - leave a comment - trackback