One Hackney Carnival snakes its way through the streets today. Photo Emma Bartholomew

Hackney’s streets are awash with colour and dancing rhythms, as samba dancers and fantastical floats snake their way through the borough.

One Hackney Carnival snakes its way through the streets today. Photo Emma Bartholomew

The One Hackney Carnival set off from Hoxton Park this morning at 10.30am and it is due to reach Stoke Newington’s Clissold Park at 2.30pm.

The all day events was designed to welcome the Olympic Flame to Hackney and has a distinctive Brazilian flavour.

As part of Rio 2016, where the next Olympics will be held, 400 Brazilian carnival performers came to Hackney from Rio to join the 2000 strong carnival procession.

The was following a series of artistic exchanges between some of Brazil’s most famous award winning carnival groups and UK counterparts commissioned by CREATE for the London 2012 Festival.

One Hackney Carnival snakes its way through the streets today. Photo Emma Bartholomew

The carnival travelled north north via Pitfield Street, De Beauvoir Road and Stamford Road, before joining Kingsland Road. It will travel northwards until Stoke Newington Church Street where participants will disperse.

The Shoreditch Festival takes place from midday with live music along the Regents Canal. Dance Nations in Gillett Square, Dalston will see street dance classes with the Slum Civilians and acrobatics from Tanzania’s Black Eagles.

There will also be Bollywood and 1920s-style dancing performances and workshops and drumming from East London communities.

At 4pm Brazilian and British carnival performers come together for a spectacular performance before unveiling the largest carnival art piece ever seen in the UK in Gillette Square.

One Hackney Carnival snakes its way through the streets today. Photo Emma Bartholomew

The work is inspired by the huge traditional floats of Rio de Janeiro’s carnivals and is the result of a collaboration between Rio’s elite carnival arts organisations and artistic counterparts in the UK as part of the London 2012 Festival.

Meanwhile, the Olympic torch will enter Hackney at Shoreditch High Street at 3:54pm.

It will pass the Shoreditch Festival at Canal Bridge and make its way up Kingsland Road and past Gillette Square as the carnival art is unveiled.

The torch arrives at Clissold House at 4.37pm and at Hackney Town Hall at 5.54pm, then at the Mabley Green Hackney Homes Family Fun day event at 6.20pm.

It leaves Hackney via Eastway with a view of Velodrome at 6.28pm.