LONDON: Three people were stabbed during the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s biggest street festival, with a 32-year-old woman suffering “life-threatening” injuries, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said.
More than 1 million people are expected to attend the carnival, a celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture that takes place every year on the streets of the Notting Hill neighbourhood in west London. More than 7,000 police officers have been assigned to the event, which concludes Monday.
Police said they made 90 arrests on Sunday, including 10 people who were detained for assaulting emergency workers, 18 for possession of offensive weapons and four for sexual offenses.
“Hundreds of thousands of people came to Notting Hill Carnival today to enjoy a fantastic celebration,” the Met said in a statement. “Regrettably, a minority came to commit crime and engage in violence.”