Violence has been a perennial concern; in the late 1970s, The Times reported that the authorities were considering banning the event. This year, the carnival began with a ceremony for the victims of this summer’s deadly fire at Grenfell Tower, which is nearby.

But the carnival “is the difference between sanity and insanity in a society that is full of problems,” one participant told The Times in 1989. “People here need a good bout of jollification.”

Thomas Furse contributed reporting.

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