THE skies will be a blaze of colour when kiteflyers from all over the world descend on the North-East this weekend.

Dozens of professional kiteflyers will be taking part in the International Festival of Kites, Music and Dance, held at the Northern Area Playing Fields, in Washington, tomorrow and Sunday.

Among the foreign visitors will be Stephen Versteegh, from Holland, French kite designer Michel Marie Bougard and German Wolfgang Schimmelphennig, who is famous for his inflatable kites.

There will also be a three-man kite team from Malaysia, who will be seen making and flying a selection of their traditional Wau kites.

This year there is a special dance marquee where visitors can see performances from dance groups around the region.

There will be everything on show from disco and line dancing to street dancing and drumming.

Musical highlights during Saturday and Sunday will be Abdul Tee Jay's Rokoto, from Sierra Leone, whose act includes multiple costume changes and two masked dancers.

The 11-man Imbizo, on tour from Zimbabwe, will also put on a colourful and energetic show.