Revellers descended today by the thousands on once-gritty, now-groovy Notting Hill to celebrate Britain's ethnic diversity, as Europe's biggest street carnival reached its festive climax.
Despite grim grey skies, some 750,000 people turned out, after nearly 500,000 converged on the West London neighborhood on Sunday - "children's day" - to sway to the rhythms of everything from calypso to house.
Police reports in the evening as the party began to wind down were positive, with only 11 people arrested.
Of those six were for using or possessing cannabis, three were for drunkenness, one for a public order offence and one for running an illegal stall.
Today's main event was the Mas' Band parade, with 64 masquerade bands with names like Yaa Asantewaa, Lagniappe and T-and-T Mudders vying for the coveted title of Best Mas on the Road.
Several dozen sound systems were set up on the surrounding streets, along with food stalls serving up Caribbean favorites like jerk chicken, curried goat and rum punch.
"To take part in carnival this weekend is to take part in the making of a truly global metropolis and the shaping of a new, dynamic, multicultural Britain," said Mr Chris Mullard, chairman of the Notting Hill Carnival Trust.
Some 10,000 police were on duty for the two days of festivities which coincided with a late August bank holiday. Hundreds more specially trained stewards were lining the parade route.
Yesterday, 34 people were arrested for offenses ranging from possession of drugs to possession of knives.
PA