THOUSANDS of people attended a multicultural event in the North-East yesterday.

Malkit Singh - the biggest selling Bangra star of all time - headlined at Middlesbrough Mela, performing for a 20,000-strong crowd.

Stallholders from across the country flocked to the town to sell food, fashions, fabric and toys in Albert Park.

An RAF Falcons parachute team filmed the Mela using cameras attached to their helmets.

These images, along with footage from the main stage, were broadcast around the world on the Internet.

This was followed by an RAF fly past and the salute, which was taken by Middlesbrough Council chairman Peter Porley.

Judith Croft, entertainment and events manager for the council, said: "Middlesbrough Mela gets bigger and better every year with people from around the country clamouring to attend.

"There is no better way of celebrating the multi-cultural nature of Middlesbrough."

Everything from Bollywood to Bengali culture was on offer to visitors along with Hindi film tunes. Steelworks, Teesside's first community steel dance band played, as well as Bahrat Nattyam from the Hindu Cultural Arts Society, a multi-cultural classic dance group of young people aged seven to 11.

The Freedom Dancers, from Newport Settlement Youth and Community Centre, performed for the first time.