Notting Hill Carnival 2011 begins in west London

 

Revellers have covered themselves in paint and powder for the J'ouvert celebration at the carnival

 

The Notting Hill Carnival has begun in west London, as hundreds of youngsters take part in the children's day which traditionally starts the two-day event.

Police numbers have been increased in a bid to prevent trouble in the wake of this month's riots in London.
Events also have an earlier end time of 19:00 BST, on both Sunday and Monday.
The annual steelband competition, held on Saturday, was won by the Mangrove Steelband. It beat the Ebony Steelband, which has won on 19 previous occasions.
Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected to line the route, along Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Grove, over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The Metropolitan Police has deployed 5,500 officers to patrol the carnival area, with 6,500 working on Monday.
In both 2009 and 2010, there were 243 arrests across the two days of the event.
'Always special' There was already a large police presence but it had been a very peaceful morning so far with no sign of trouble.
One of the event's directors, Ancil Barclay, said it was important to show that the violent image of London, seen during the riots, was "really not applicable" to the city's Caribbean community.
"I would invite everyone to come out and look at the amount of young people we have in the streets of London, showing off their excellence in different forms,"

 

Mounted police officers have been gathering at the start of the carnival route to try to prevent disorder

 

Children have been spraying themselves with brightly-coloured paint and powder as part of the messy J'ouvert celebration at the beginning of the carnival.
The condiment entrepreneur Levi Roots said the Sunday of the festival was "fantastic" and was "always special".
"It's the first day - what we call it is 'the kiddies' day' - and today is when you get your 'eye candy'," he said.
"The most beautiful thing you will see on the street is these kids, dressed up in the costumes."
The London Ambulance Service has urged anyone feeling unwell during the event to go to one of the 11 treatment centres it has set up with St John Ambulance.
Although Sunday's parade began with sunny conditions, heavy rain has been forecast during the afternoon.
Some roads and Tube stations have been closed for the carnival and Transport for London has issued a guide with full details.