THE centre of Durham comes to a standstill today as former colliery communities hark back to their coal mining roots.

The Durham Miners' Gala is very much a reminder of the county's past, a decade after the closure of the last pits in the coalfield.

But as time goes on, the sense of history and tradition remains very much alive, and the gala, considered to be petering out in the early 1990s, is now a firm fixture in the calendar for years to come.

As usual, the parade of bands and banners will take place from 9.30am, with the procession beginning at the NUM headquarters at Redhill, near the railway viaduct.

Between 40 and 50 bands will lead lodges and other union groups, including a detachment of former war-time Bevin Boys with their standard, as they wind their way through the city centre.

The focal point of the parade is the balcony at the Royal County Hotel, in Old Elvet, where each lodge band will stop to perform for the assembled dignitaries.

Attention switches to the Racecourse at about 1pm, when the speakers will be GMB general secretary John Edmonds, Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, gala favourite Tony Benn, and Unison lay-president Veronica Dunn.

Among the guests will be former Labour leader Michael Foot, who is believed to be only a few appearances behind Tony Benn at the Big Meeting.

There will be plenty of entertainment for the crowds, including the traditional Racecourse fun fair, with an array of street performers.

The Newcastle Samba band will add some exciting rhythm to the proceedings, all the way from the Latin quarter of Tyneside.

They will be followed by the Baghdaddies, the UK's top Balkan dance band, more traditional local dancing from the High Spen Blue Diamonds rapper sword team, while musicians Benny Graham, Chuck Fleming and Pegleg Ferret, and a stilt-walking street theatre group, will also entertain the crowds.

Several colliery bands and banners, including the three from Seaham, plus Mainsforth and Ferryhill's Dean and Chapter lodges, will take pride of place in Durham Cathedral, for a service at 3pm.

Joint organiser George Robson, a former NUM regional official in Durham, said the feedback from the colliery communities appears as positive as ever.

"It's amazing really. There have been no pits in the County of Durham for ten years now, and yet the communities are determined not to lose their heritage.

"About nine years ago there was a bit of a slump, but it's picked up again and we now have support to keep the tradition going. As long as the will is there, there will be a gala."