Entertainment

Notting Hill Carnival marks 60th anniversary in west London

The three-day Caribbean cultural event featured parades, live music, and heavy security measures over the bank holiday weekend.

Updated Aug 31, 2026 · 18:23 UTC1 reports

The short version

Notting Hill Carnival celebrated its 60th anniversary over the bank holiday weekend with parades, steelband competitions, and static sound systems in west London.
More than two million attendees were expected to join the event, which included a 72-second silence to honor victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.
The Metropolitan Police deployed over 7,000 officers and reported 243 arrests on Sunday, alongside treating two people for non-life-threatening slash wounds.

The Notting Hill Carnival celebrated its 60th anniversary over the bank holiday weekend in west London, having first been held in 1966.[BBC News]
Organizers expected more than two million people to participate in the three-day festival across the weekend.[BBC News]
A 72-second silence was observed at 15:00 BST to honor the 72 victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire.[BBC News]
The Metropolitan Police deployed over 7,000 officers for the weekend, while event organizers fielded more than 3,000 stewards.[BBC News]
Police reported 243 arrests on Sunday for offences including drug possession, assault, sexual offences, and weapon possession, with two individuals treated for non-life-threatening slash injuries.[BBC News]
Authorities banned more than 330 people from attending the festival as part of pre-event bail conditions.[BBC News]