Notting Hill carnival gets under way amid heavy police presence

Europe’s largest street festival kicks off with the Jour Ouvert event in which festivalgoers cover each other paint and flour Crowds have started to flood the streets of west London as Notting Hill carnival, the largest street festival in Europe, gets underway. Up to 70 floats are expected to take part in the children’s day parade amid a heavy police presence. Officers are manning knife arches on London underground links around the capital. The Metropolitan police confirmed that there were plainclothes officers amongst the carnival crowd but refused to discuss numbers, and a police helicopter flew overhead, the sound of the chopper blades competing with the music blaring out from batteries of sound systems on sidestreets. With tensions high in the wake of the riots, about 16,000 officers will be deployed in the capital for the duration of the carnival. Organisers were allowed to proceed on the condition that the parade would end by 6.30pm and the sound systems be turned off by 7pm, hours earlier than usual, with the aim of minimising the risk of violence breaking out. Police also have a section 60 order in place across London, giving officers extra powers to stop and search members of the public. The power was also used during the royal wedding in April, when a number of protesters were arrested during the event even though they were up to a mile from the celebrations themselves. The police said a total of four arrests had been made as the carnival got under way, three for possession of drugs and one for a public order offence. Earlier in the day fifty dancers and brass band members from the Yaa arts group trouped through the streets in red, black and yellow camouflage. Organisers said the camouflage costumes represented the uniform of “hooded youth” who believe themselves disguised when they are in the streets.The live brass band symbolised that young people also had constructive talents, the group said. The festival kicked off with the messy and colourful Jour Ouvert in which festivalgoers covered themselves in paint and flour, an event that has become a tradition at the Notting Hill carnival over the past three years. Organiser Franka Philip said the idea for the Jour Ouvert was taken from the Phagwa festival in the Caribbean, which itself originates from the Indian spring festival of Holi, when people throw paint and powdered dye over revellers. On an otherwise sunny day, a brief downpour sent festivalgoers scurrying for shelter just after lunch. Notting Hill carnival Festivals Police London Shiv Malik guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 28, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.