Notting Hill Carnival kicked off at the crack of dawn this morning with colourful celebrations for J'Ouvert, marking the start of the world-famous street party.
From 6am, festival-goers gathered in west London for J'Ouvert celebrations, which means opening of the day, as they paraded through the streets and sprayed brightly coloured paints and powders to get into the carnival spirit.
Three men splattered in paint were even spotted dancing on top of a bus stop outside Ladbroke Grove station, near Portobello Road market, as celebrations got off to a very early start.
Hundreds gathered under a bridge where they danced and launched paint into the air as Europe's biggest street party, which celebrates Caribbean culture, got underway in flamboyant style.
Some were dressed in blue overalls to protect their clothes from the paint, while others wore their most colourful outfits or took part in a tradition from Grenada in the West Indies called Jab-Jab.
