Police out in force at London carnival to prevent new riots
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London's police were out in force as the Notting Hill Carnival got under way on Sunday in a bid to stop Europe's biggest street festival descending into a repeat of this month's devastating riots.
The two-day showcase of Caribbean culture in west London attracts up to a million revellers to watch troupes of dancers in exotic costumes perform on floats as powerful sound systems pump out music.
But this year's event is a huge test for the police in the wake of the riots, and they are packing the area with 5,500 officers on Sunday and 6,500 on Monday, around a thousand more than last year.
The festivities almost did not take place at all following the unrest, which was the worst in England for decades.
The riots, which started in the north London district of Tottenham on August 6 before spreading across the capital and to other cities, caused enormous damage and left five people dead.
Add to this the Notting Hill Carnival's reputation as a magnet for troublemakers, and many commentators thought it inevitable the event would be axed.
Organisers were not ready to admit defeat in the face of an outbreak of civil disobedience, however, especially because the carnival itself originated as an act of defiant celebration in response to race riots in the 1950s.
The carnival was founded in 1964 following the disturbances in Notting Hill six years earlier, which saw clashes between whites and newly arrived immigrants from the West Indies.
"We are not going to let a minority stop us from doing what we want," Ancil Barclay, the festival's co-director, told AFP.
"Cancelling the event would have had a negative impact and would have sent a bad message with the Olympics next year."
London Mayor Boris Johnson also urged people to "let the true spirit of London shine through", saying the carnival could help heal wounds left by the riots.
The carnival will finish three hours earlier than normal to allow crowds to disperse before darkness falls.
Several shops have boarded up their fronts as a precaution. Nevertheless, authorities are on edge.
As well as the tight security around the festival itself, more than 4,000 officers are being deployed elsewhere in the capital in addition to the thousands who are normally on duty, police said.
Every year, the police's Operation Razorback targets known troublemakers across London who plan to exploit the carnival for violence and criminal activity.
Scotland Yard told AFP they had made 40 arrests ahead of this year's event.
"We do have intelligence that some gangs do want to come to the carnival and create trouble for us," Commander Steve Rodhouse said.
He accepted this year's event was taking place in 'unusual and exceptional circumstances'.
Rodhouse said troublemakers were plotting disruption via social networking technology, but the 'degree of chatter' was consistent with previous years.
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