A man in his 20s has been stabbed at Notting Hill Carnival, the Met Police has said.

The force said his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening and a section 60 order, which gives officers additional powers to search suspects, would be in place until 02:00 BST.

About 7,000 officers are patrolling this year’s street festival in west London, which is expected to attract about one million people across Sunday and Monday.

Officers have arrested 38 people and recovered four knives, the force said.

Ahead of this year’s carnival, the Met described it as a fixture in London’s cultural calendar that was also a “challenging event to police with very dense crowds and a regrettable history of a minority of people using it as an opportunity to commit crime, including violence”.

Commander Charmain Brenyah, the Met’s spokesperson for this year’s event, said as she had grown up not far from where carnival takes place, she had “happy memories of the music, costumes, floats and fantastic atmosphere”.

“Sadly, however, we know that for a minority of people, carnival is an opportunity to commit crime or to seek out violent confrontation,” she said.

“As a police officer on duty in previous years I’ve seen both the carnival I experienced in my youth, but also the other side of the same event when, later in the day, the atmosphere changes in some parts, with floats and costumes giving way to serious violence.”

She added that in the past two years, one person had been killed, 14 others had been stabbed and more than 125 police officers had been assaulted.

About 500 arrests were made at the carnival during those two years.

“These incidents can’t be downplayed or dismissed,” she said.

“It is for that reason that anyone going to carnival will see a very significant policing presence.

“We’re there to keep you safe – if you see us say hello – but we’re also there to intervene decisively against those intent on violence.”

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