At least three people were stabbed on the opening day of Notting Hill Carnival in London on Sunday, with one person’s injuries remaining life-threatening, police said.
The Metropolitan police said they were aware of three stabbing incidents in X, including one which left a 32-year-old woman in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The other people stabbed were a 29-year-old man and a 24-year-old man, the former’s condition is not life-threatening, and police were waiting to hear the condition of the 24-year-old man at the time of posting.
“Hundreds of thousands of people came to Notting Hill Carnival today to enjoy some fantastic festivities and our officers were on duty keeping them safe as part of a very carefully planned security operation,” police said. “Unfortunately, a small number of people committed crimes and engaged in violent behaviour.”
A video shows a Navy ship blasting Darth Vader’s famous national anthem as it sails through the famous waterway.
Police officers stand guard at Notting Hill Carnival in London on August 25, 2024. (Reuters/Holly Adams)
Police said the situation escalated into a riot and 15 officers were assaulted, but no officers were seriously injured.
Police arrested 90 people for various crimes.
Ten people were arrested for assaulting emergency workers, 18 for possession of an offensive weapon, four for sexual offences, one for theft, four for robbery, six for assault, one for breach of peace, eight for possession of drugs with intent to sell and 30 for drug possession, four of whom were arrested for possession of nitrous oxide.
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Participants wear colorful costumes on the opening night of last year’s Notting Hill Carnival in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Ahead of Carnival, police said they had been given the power to order people to remove face coverings used to conceal their identity, and said anyone who refused the order could be arrested.
Notting Hill Carnival is one of the world’s biggest celebrations of Caribbean music and culture, with hundreds of thousands of revellers filling the streets of west London for two days each year.
This year’s festival will be held on August 25th and 26th.
Popular carnival ‘marred by serious violence’ as men with huge knives attack, 8 stabbed, 275 arrested
The London Ambulance Service posted pictures on social media of its crew walking around Notting Hill Carnival in west London. (London Ambulance Service)
The carnival’s history dates back to 1958, when Trinidadian human rights activist Claudia Jones began organising rallies to unite the community in the Notting Hill area following a series of racist attacks against black people.
What started in 1964 by a few steel band members from Trinidad has grown into a massive annual street party with colorful floats, thousands of calypso dancers in flamboyant feathered costumes, about 20 steel bands and more than two dozen sound systems.
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Carnival is returning to the district’s narrow streets in 2022, two years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to take place online.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
