"The theme for Carnival 2007, has a very serious message, " said Notting Hill Carnival's chairman, Professor Chris Mullard.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | London | Carnival route remains unchanged

Fears of overcrowding were mainly to blame, but the mayor warned that without solving such problems in future a similar fate could befall other events such as the Notting Hill Carnival.

BBC: Ken Livingstone

Notting Hill became famous for its carnival, a weekend-long pageant of Afro-Caribbean culture.

ECONOMIST: London

Most of the so-called local resident groups who participate in the carnival do not reside in Notting Hill as with most of the "performers".

BBC: NEWS | Have Your Say | Did you go to Notting Hill Carnival?

As the carnival has no real contemporary connection with the Notting Hill or the Caribbean save for a few largely ignored floats, why doesn't Mr Livingstone put his foot down and move the carnival to a more centralized, logistically practical location readily accepted as a space for all Londoners to gather such as Hyde Park!

BBC: NEWS | Have Your Say | Did you go to Notting Hill Carnival?

One of the prime movers behind the drive to get the carnival moved from its traditional west London home also dropped in to Notting Hill to see how things were going.

BBC: Carnival costumes