More than two million people are expected to flock to London's Notting Hill Carnival this Bank Holiday weekend.

About 250,000 attended yesterday's warm-up parade, while more sunny weather forecasts today promise to attract huge crowds to the world's second largest street party.

By midnight, police have made 54 arrests, including two for the attempted murder of a man found with "puncture wounds to the abdomen" in Ladbroke Grove.

The victim is in a stable condition in hospital.

A strong police presence will continue today, with officers serving a total of about 11,000 shifts throughout the carnival weekend.

CARNIVAL ROUTE MAP

  • See the route map of the 43rd Notting Hill Carnival

This year's event, the 43rd, is themed "set all free" to mark 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade.

At Children's Day yesterday - where all the performers were under 18 - thousands of families soaked up the Caribbean atmosphere amidst steaming food stalls, feathered dancers and steel band rhythms.

"It's amazing how many people have taken on our theme - freedom, equality, opportunity, liberty," said Professor Chris Mullard, the chairman of the London Notting Hill Carnival Company.

"When I started coming in the 1960s, the murder of a young black man, Kelso Cochrane, had prompted the beginning of the Notting Hill race riots.

"But now things have moved from a kind of, 'Please accept us', to 'We were born here'."

Last year about 1.5 million people filled the streets of Notting Hill, west London, over the two days.

Balmy temperatures of 23C could see the figure smashed today, a MeteoGroup forecaster said.