The clean-up operation began overnight after this year's Notting Hill Carnival, with West London streets left strewn with rubbish including raw chicken carcasses, takeaway boxes, beer cans and cigarette butts. The Metropolitan Police confirmed 560 arrests over the two-day festival, a record figure expected to rise further as processing continues, for offences ranging from drug and weapons possession to assaults on emergency workers and sexual offences.

Two knife-related incidents were also recorded, including a stabbing and a slashing, though neither caused life-threatening injuries. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea puts its annual clean-up and staffing costs at around £1million, offset by roughly £300,000 in street trader fees, while the Met's policing operation cost £15.7million last year, up from £11.7million in 2023. The carnival is estimated to contribute almost £400million to the economy annually, but critics, including a former adviser to Boris Johnson, have called for an admission fee to help cover costs; organisers maintain the event is safe despite recent controversies, including the 2024 murder of Cher Maximen.