Notting Hill Carnival celebrates Windrush legacy in blaze of colour

A dancer wows with his impressive acrobatics

Londoners celebrating Caribbean culture at Notting Hill Carnival have been back winding their way through the streets of west London for the famous parade's 55th incarnation.

Thumping sound systems accompanied colourful feathered bands with representations of everywhere from Martinique to Mauritius.

Commemorating 75 years since the first Windrush arrivals, Transport for London teamed up with the Windrush Generation Association to provide a float for the veterans to celebrate.

In another poignant tribute, sound systems fell silent for 72 seconds on both Sunday and Monday to remember the victims of Grenfell, the tower which can be seen from various parts of the route.

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Celebrities including Lily Allen, Idris Elba and Nick Grimshaw were among those partying at this year's carnival, and it was expected more than two million people would have taken to the streets by the end of the bank holiday.

The Windrush 75 bus to celebrate the Windrush veterans who first arrived to the from UK from 1948

Aboard the Windrush 75 bus, Deborah Klass, chief executive of the Windrush Generation Association told how the float is dedicated to those who disembarked the HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury in 1948, celebrating the diamond anniversary of their arrival.

"I think we've got someone from every island in the Caribbean on this bus today," she said.

The bus was provided by GoAhead and adorning it was a bespoke Windrush stamp collection design.

Ms Klass added: "We've been involved in getting our elders on to the bus today so that they can be celebrated.

"It will have been 75 years ago since they first came to Britain. We want to give that welcome that they should have had."

Deborah Klass said the bus celebrated heritage from almost every Caribbean island

She continued: "London is a melting pot of diversity and culture, so it's so wonderful that young people really want to represent Britain as well as the native country of their parents and bring them together.

"It's the legacy and memories that the Windrush generation have brought to Britain. Everyone here is just so proud of their origins and their descent. I'm here with my Grenada flag here representing my mum and dad."

Wesley Dowridge, 80, who first came to the UK in May 1962 from Guyana, was among those invited on to the bus with his daughter.

Wesley Dowridge, here with his daughter, came to Notting Hill in 1962

He said: "We've been here all these years contributing to the country, through the war and the NHS. It's great that we are finally getting the recognition.

"Carnival is vitally important for my generation. We are happy people who love music, it's beautiful to see all the young people here today of all different races together, it just shows that music and food brings everyone together.

"Apparently this is the largest carnival in the world after Brazil and it makes me feel exceptionally proud."

London Fire Brigade lead two 72 second silences to remember the Grenfell victims

As part of the tributes to the Grenfell victims, firefighters and survivors stood outside Ladbroke Grove fire station followed by a round of applause from the public.

This year's organisers and police said they were putting a special focus on crowd management to keep people safe.

The extra measures included 500 more stewards briefed to spot densely packed areas, a group monitoring the situation by trialling crowd safety camera technology, and more officers on horses.

On Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said the mood at the carnival had been "good-natured throughout the day" as they announced that a Section 60 order, providing officers with additional search powers, would be imposed overnight.

The force described it as a precautionary step following information that some people had travelled to the area carrying knives.

In its latest update, the Met said 275 arrests had been made across the two-day event for a range of offences, including possession of offensive weapons, assaults on police officers, possession of drugs and sexual offences.

The force also said two men were in hospital. One 29-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital following a stabbing in Warfield Road, just off Harrow Road, shortly after 21:00 BST on Monday.

A 19-year-old man is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after he was stabbed in Ladbroke Grove about an hour before.

Police said six other men, aged between 18 and 40, sustained non-life threatening injuries in separate stabbing incidents throughout Monday evening.

Two dancers with vibrant feathers head to their floats

Another reveller showed off his striking feathers

Some were adorned with jewels from head to toe

Samba dancers girated behind a Brazilian-inspired float

The Nostalgia steel band made their way along the parade

A samba dancer impressed with a striking gold head-dress

Performers in costumes stood on an ancient Egyptian-style float

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