Notting Hill Carnival has kicked off with an explosion of colour and music.

After fears the start of Europe’s biggest street festival would be hampered by rain, the skies cleared and the sun shone on performers as they paraded through the streets of west London in bright costumes.

Up to one million people are expected to attend the Carnival to experience Caribbean culture, food, music and dance.

 

Party time: A child in an elaborate costume prepares to take part in the parade on the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London earlier today

Beats: A drumming group adds to the joyous cacophony of the two day event

Throngs: Up to one million people are crammed into the streets of West London for the famous annual festival

Athletic: An acrobatic performer thrills onlookers

Thumping basslines, sizzling meat and tooting whistles filled the air as giant floats made their way from Westbourne Park Underground station, up Kensal Road, along Ladbroke Grove and down Westbourne Grove.

One of the first groups to take to the streets was the charity Kinetika Bloco, whose dancers wore pink, green and white costumes while a brass band played songs from The Clash’s Rock the Casbah to Daft Punk’s Get Lucky.

Music is at the heart of Notting Hill Carnival, and both traditional and contemporary sounds fill the air for miles around.

Historically steel bands, Soca and Calypso Music (two forms of music that originated among slaves in Caribbean sugar plantations) have been at the heart of Carnival but in recent years these have been overtaken by the static sound systems playing anything from Reggae to R&B, Funk, House, Dub and much more.

 

Not your average face paint: A group of festival-goers splattered in paint pose for the camera during one of the city’s biggest events

Jade: A youngster carefully balances an enormous and unwieldy costume

Read more: Daily Mail