Eight people were stabbed and police made hundreds of arrests last weekend during the Notting Hill Carnival, the world’s largest street festival held annually in west London.
Giving an update on its police operation late on Monday, the capital’s Metropolitan Police said five people were stabbed on the final day of the world-famous three-day celebration of British Afro-Caribbean identity.
This followed three stabbing incidents on Sunday, and three victims of the long weekend violence remain in life-threatening conditions, the force said.
Officers made at least 230 arrests on Monday, 49 of them for possessing offensive weapons, in addition to dozens arrested the previous day.
Three firearms were seized and 35 officers were injured during the event. Around one million people attend the event each year over the August bank holiday weekend.
Police numbers were similar to last year, when there were 10 stabbing incidents and nearly 300 arrests.
Millions of people flock to the streets of west London for Carnival, filling the Notting Hill neighbourhood and surrounding districts with colour, costumes, dance and music.
Around 7,000 officers were on duty for the event, which has been repeatedly hit by incidents of violence, particularly knife crime, but most people enjoyed the event without incident.
Photo Credit: Image Credit: AFP
However, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan said he was “tired of saying the same thing every year” after a woman who was at the carnival with her child was also stabbed.
“We narrowly averted a death,” he said, urging carnival visitors to report any crimes they encounter.
The celebration of British Afro-Caribbean culture has its roots in the 1950s with the first surge in arrivals from former British colonies after World War II.
This vibrant annual event features feathered dancers, steel bands and earth-shaking sound systems.
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