Notting Hill Carnival 'overwhelmingly positive' despite 169 arrests

The Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street party, is under way and is expected to attract millions of visitors to west London.

The Met Police described the mood as "overwhelmingly positive", despite making 169 arrests on Sunday.

In a statement, the force said: "While officers responded to a number of incidents as would be anticipated at an event of this scale, the mood has been overwhelmingly positive and celebratory."

It said, as of 7.45pm on Sunday, the arrests had been made for offences including possession of drugs, possession of weapons, assaults and sexual offences.

In 2025 the Met said it made 528 arrests across the two main days of the carnival, and in 2024 there were eight stabbings, including the murder of 32-year-old mother Cher Maximen.

Commander Claire Smart, who is in charge of the policing operation, said: "While we have seen a significant number of arrests and interventions by officers, the result of that proactive approach is a welcome reduction in the levels of serious violence seen at the event in previous years.

"Nobody involved in the delivery of the event is complacent, however.

"There are still many officers deployed across the footprint to ensure crowds disperse safely.

"We will have officers on duty through the night and tomorrow we will go again to ensure we can continue to tackle the minority who want to come to carnival to spoil the celebration for the majority."

Read more from Sky News:
PM's pledge to end 'injustice' of IPP sentences
Man killed at Christian festival named

Earlier this week, the force said more than 7,000 officers would be deployed to west London over the bank holiday weekend.

Facial recognition is also being used again this year.

The celebration of Caribbean culture, which is marking its 60th anniversary this year, includes parades, live music, street food and sound stages.

(c) Sky News 2026: Notting Hill Carnival 'overwhelmingly positive' despite 169 arrests