Thousands watch Edinburgh Festival Carnival

THOUSANDS of spectators flocked to the city centre for one of the highlights of the cultural calendar.

More than 700 performers took part in Sunday’s Edinburgh Festival Carnival.

Following an hour-long parade which left The Mound at 2.30pm before heading along Princes Street, attention turned to the Ross Bandstand and the wider Princes Street Gardens, where a host of performances were staged.

There was also a performance stage and stalls in the Grassmarket and a special area for young people and families at the west end of the Gardens.

Performers arrived in the Capital from across the world – including Senegal, South Africa, China, the US, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Martinique and Trinidad.

Crowds were also entertained by a host of Scottish drummers, dancers, fire-eaters, jugglers, stilt walkers and circus acts.

While the weather wasn’t quite up to scratch, organisers were justified in their pre-parade promise of the biggest and brightest Edinburgh Festival Carnival yet.