RECORD breaking crowds of 45,000 people enjoyed the Middlesbrough Mela in Centre Square.

Crowds were treated to a whole host of multi-cultural delights at the event, which is the biggest of its kind in the North East, including live music and delicious food.

Big names on the varied bill this time included Cbeebies star Dr Ranj, The Only Way Is Essex’s Jasmin Walia and popular singer Zack Knight, along with headline acts HunterZ and Britain’s Got Talent star Signature, invited back by popular demand.

Middlesbrough Mayor Dave Budd said: “The Mela is always one of the best events we have in Middlesbrough and once again it was brilliant to see so many people turn out to enjoy it.

“Our ambition is to make even more use of Centre Square as an event space and the Mela is the perfect example of how we can bring people together to enjoy themselves – even more so when the sun shines like it did on Sunday.”

The Mela weekend has previously clocked up big numbers but the only comparable crowds were in 2013 when Olly Murs performed a concert in Centre Square on the Friday night.

Hosts for the weekend were Remel London on Saturday and BBC Asian Network’s Kan D Man on Sunday.

There was also a wide array of international and local performers across the weekend.