Notting Hill Carnival looks ahead to London 2012 (BBC SLIDESHOW)

Hundreds of thousands of revellers party on the streets of west London for the Notting Hill Carnival.

On Children's Sunday, dancers, artists and groups in colourful costumes perform along the three-and-a-half mile route.

In addition to the costumes and music, there are also hundreds of exotic food and drink stalls on offer.

It is believed that 1 million and a half people will attend the carnival making it the largest street festival in Europe

It is estimated that the carnival features about 50,000 participants adorned with 150,000 feather plumes and 30 million sequins.

Revelers can also enjoy a variety of different musical styles such as steelpan bands, traditional soca, calypso or reggae.

Giant puppets are also popular at the Notting Hill carnival.

The quiet residential streets of west London have been transformed with the carnival's loud and noisy party atmosphere.

Thousands of Metropolitan Police officers are on duty at the carnival.

The security budget for the event was boosted by a new sponsorship deal.

Police made several arrests in the week building up to the event but have said that celebrations have got off to a peaceful start.

The carnival's main procession takes place on Bank Holiday Monday.