Sun and fun at London carnival

London police getting in the spirit of Notting Hill

LONDON, England -- Bright sunshine raised spirits on the second day of London's Notting Hill carnival as up to one million people converged on the festival streets.

Police reported that the day had passed peacefully with no major incidents in contrast to last year when two people were killed.

The festival was in danger of being a washout after Sunday storms cut attendance by 50 percent on the previous year.

Security was tight for this year's festival to prevent any repeat of last year's violence with 10,000 police officers, aided by 80 CCTV cameras, at a cost of £4 million.

A police spokesman told the Reuters news agency: "There have been no major problems. The crowd was good-natured and everyone enjoyed some fun in the sun. There were about one million people there at its peak."

One officer was assigned to each float in the carnival this year, and police were issued with metal detectors to check for weapons. Two-metre high viewing points have been installed.

Children paraded through west London streets ahead of Monday's events

Flamboyantly dressed floats and spectacularly clothed dancers took to the streets during the main parade on Monday to the sound of tropical music.

Only 500,000 visitors attended the carnival on Sunday -- 50 percent down on the previous year -- as a series of showers drenched the UK capital.

Police told the UK's Press Association that 13 arrests were made on Sunday, with two police officers needing hospital treatment for minor injuries. About 93 partygoers suffered injuries that were not serious.

This year's programme includes 65 masquerade bands, 10 steel bands, 12 calypso singers, 55 sound systems and more than 300 food stalls.

The carnival has its traditions in the West Indian community which lived in the now-fashionable district recently made famous by the film ''Notting Hill,'' starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

It began in 1964 as a local affair set up by the West Indian immigrants of the area and has become a full-blooded Caribbean carnival, attracting millions of people from around the world.

In recent years, participating groups have come from Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Bulgaria, Russia, Brazil as well as from all parts of the Caribbean, Africa, Central and South America and the United Kingdom.