All fun and games despite rain at London's Notting Hill carnival

The parade featured almost 100 bands, sassy street dancing around decorative floats and about 38 sound systems and stages bellowing everything from reggae to house.

Carnival performers take part in the parade on the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival. (August 26, 2018)
AFP

Carnival performers take part in the parade on the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival. (August 26, 2018)

London's famous Notting Hill Carnival transformed the streets into a sea of colour and sound on Sunday as revellers joined one of Europe's largest open-air parties in their thousands despite heavy rain in the British capital.

AFP

A performer prepares for the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London. (August 26, 2018)

The carnival featured steel bands, dance troupes and elaborate floats, with many among the crowds hurling paint and coloured powder at each other while dancing on the city's streets.

AP

Dancers perform during the Notting Hill Carnival Family Day at the annual carnival event in London. (August 26, 2018)

Police deployed metal-detecting arches to counter potential knife crime and have been additional stop-and-search powers at this year's carnival based on intelligence and after a spate of violent crime in London over the past week.

AP

A carnival performer dances during Family day at the Notting Hill Carnival in west London. (August 26, 2018)

Established in 1966, carnival was set up to celebrate Afro-Caribbean culture, which flourished with immigration after World War Two. Confrontation with the far right followed, and race riots erupted in what was a shabby immigrant enclave in 1958.

Now the area is one of London's richest, lined with elegant stucco houses that are home to bankers, oligarchs and stars.

Reuters

Revellers take part in the Notting Hill Carnival in London. (August 26, 2018)

Despite the carnival attracting hundreds of thousands of people and putting the area on the tourist map, it also contributes an estimated $118 million (93 million pounds) to London's economy, according to the mayor's office.

AP

A dance troupe arrive to perform on roller blades during the Notting Hill Carnival Family Day at the annual carnival event in London. (August 26, 2018)

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