Notting Hill Carnival: 29-year-old in critical condition as eight men stabbed during west London event

Eight men have been injured in separate stabbing incidents on Monday evening (August 28) at Notting Hill Carnival.

A 29-year-old is in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed in Warfield Road, shortly after 9pm.

Another man, a 19-year-old, is also in hospital in a serious but stable condition, while six other men, aged 18, 19, 20, 25, 28 and 40, sustained non-life threatening injuries.

The Met Police said there were a total of 275 arrests over the two days.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who oversaw the policing operation, said it is “regrettable” that the Monday night was “marred by serious violence”, and that the force will be reviewing the past two days and giving consideration to what may need to change for future events.

“It is important to recognise the positives that we can take away from the event,” he said. “I am pleased that by working in close partnership with the event organisers and the stewarding teams, we were able to closely monitor crowd density and intervene in an effective way to prevent any incidents of crushing at peak times.

“I would like to thank all the officers who have worked so hard over the weekend to keep people safe.

“Carnival is a challenging policing environment. Officers were asked to be vigilant and alert but to be approachable, respectful and sensitive at the same time. They did all of that and more and they deserve our recognition and our thanks.”

Notting Hill Carnival is one of the world’s largest street festivals, attracting around two million people to west London over the weekend.

This year marked two significant anniversaries; 75 years since HMT Empire Windrush docked in England, and 50 years since sound systems were first introduced at the event.

Ahead of the weekend, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “This fantastic celebration would simply not be possible without the hard work of the event organisers and I want to thank them along with our brilliant emergency service personnel, from the police, to the London Ambulance and the London Fire Brigade, who will be working hard over the entire weekend to keep us all safe and to ensure Carnival can be enjoyed by all Londoners and visitors.”