Notting Hill braces for the Carnival: Luxurious west London homes are boarded up ahead of world-famous street festival, with ‘millions’ set to descend this weekend 

• Pictures show luxurious buildings in west London boarded up in preparation
• Last year’s festival saw 209 arrests, some for criminal damage and assault 

Luxurious west London properties have been boarded up ahead of Notting Hill Carnival, as millions are set to flock to the street festival this weekend. 

The festival, which began in 1966, will see streets across west London closed this bank holiday weekend to celebrate Caribbean culture, arts and heritage.

But some homeowners in the area have been seen to board up their properties as the joyous event can often descend into violence and disruption.

Last year, police made 209 arrests at the carnival for offences including criminal damage, common assault, drug possession and possession of an offensive weapon. Drill rapper TKorStretch, real name Takayo Nembhard, 21, was also stabbed to death, while two female cops were sexually assaulted.

The event is hugely popular and has been known to attract an astonishing 2 million people in years gone by, as revellers flock to see the three-and-a-half mile parade with colourful floats and performances. 

Residential properties are Boarded up in Notting Hill, West London ahead of Notting Hill Carnival

The festival, which began in 1966, will see streets across west London closed this bank holiday weekend to celebrate Caribbean culture, arts and heritage

But some homeowners in the area have been seen to board up their properties as the joyous event can often descend into violence

The event is hugely popular and has been known to attract an astonishing 2 million people in years gone by, as revellers flock to see the three-and-a-half mile parade with colourful floats and performances

It will close down a huge section of west London from 6am on Sunday August 28 to 6am on Tuesday August 30. 

However due to the fallout, residents in the area have taken precautions, with one admitting she is ‘scared’ of it. 

Munian Barakat, who lives in the area and is originally from Palestine, told The Sun that the front of her building and her front door gets used as a toilet, and rubbish is thrown over her fence.

‘That’s why I asked the neighbours to put up the wooden barriers because it’s really dangerous,’ she said. ‘I’m an old woman.’

Ms Barakat is going to her daughter’s house for this year’s carnival but is worried she may come back to find her ‘house destroyed or the windows broken’.

READ MORE: Fury as Bank Holiday train strikes cripple Britain: Rail network will come to a halt ruining families’ plans and leaving tens of thousands unable to get to Notting Hill Carnival 

She added: ‘There’s too much noise when the carnival comes by and it can be scary. It’s messy. People are sometimes drunk and hitting each other.’

Businesses in the area even pay companies to board up their establishments. 

And the boarding up of property is not cheap, as wine bar manager Luigi Gaudio paid a whopping £1,500 to have his store protected.

He added that the council gets local artists to graffiti the wooden boards after they have been erected. 

In advance of the carnival’s commencement tomorrow, the Met Police tweeted: ‘We have highly visible police presence within the area of Notting Hill with the #NottingHillCarnival23 this weekend. 

‘Please enjoy the carnival safely – but if something doesn’t feel right, speak to an officer, safety steward or dial 999 in an emergency.’

However due to the fallout, residents in the area have taken precautions, with one admitting she is ‘scared’ of it

Munian Barakat, who lives in the area and is originally from Palestine, told The Sun that the front of her building and her front door gets used as a toilet, and rubbish is thrown over her fence

The boarding up of property is not cheap, as another resident, wine bar manager Luigi Gaudio, paid £1,500 to have his store protected

In advance of the carnival’s commencement tomorrow, the Met Police tweeted: ‘We have highly visible police presence within the area of Notting Hill with the #NottingHillCarnival23 this weekend

As well as criminal acts, there was a huge crush at last year’s festival that left ‘helpless’ police trapped alongside revellers, activating their panic buttons – and leaving colleagues fearing ‘another Hillsborough’.

Videos shared across social media from August 29, 2022, showed an enormous crowd amassing on Ladbroke Grove that was swelling to dangerous levels.

At the scene, police officers were caught up in the chaos and left helpless, while desperate revellers were seen clambering over the railings to escape the impending crush.

The situation had reached such a critical point that the Territorial Support Group called in an emergency and warned they were ‘getting crushed to death’, the Times reports. 

One reveller posted on social media: ‘I was right in the middle, thought I was gonna die. Can’t lie, just had to go with the flow of the crowd.’ 

Another wrote: ‘Almost died in this’. 

Pictured are three men boarding up their property in Notting Hill as they prepare for this weekend’s carnival

Blockades are put up outside houses across west London, to make sure their properties don’t become damaged

The council then pgets local artists to graffiti the wooden boards in time for the long-running carnival 

And a third added: ‘The police waited till it got that bad as we warned them to cut if off from one of the floats as the DJ stopped the music and asked for help and was ignored. To the point the public were screaming at the police to call for back-up. We were ignored.’ 

Chris Hobbs, a retired Metropolitan police officer, said his first reaction after witnessing the crush was to think of Hillsborough.

‘I saw police among it helpless. That’s the bigger problem than the violence – the potential for another Hillsborough’, he added.

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