A spontaneous explosion of colour, music, dancing and theatre kick-started Bradford’s Urban Festival tonight.

The three-day celebration, which continues tomorrow and Saturday, got under way at about 8.30pm with a ‘flash mob’ event in City Park.

Co-ordinated by Bradford Council’s youth service and watched enthusiastically by about 200 people, the event started with a performance by fast-moving all-girl dance group AKA Dancers.

They were followed by Punjabi Roots Academy, whose drumming got the crowd into a rhythm.

Another performance by AKA Dancers was followed by breakdancing group Clean North.

The crowd gasped and cheered as the six-strong group twirled their way through a series of gravity-defying moves.

Next up were a group of young men – Up North Development – who battled against problems with the sound system to delight the audience with fast, edgy, thought-provoking vocals.

The Flash Mob was completed with African dance from the Bradford Youth Service Group.

An animation film by Bradford teenager Kyle Robinson was next. Played on the big screen in City Park, the 17-year-old’s film, which featured rapping by Up North Development, showcased positive aspects of Bradford.

Kyle said: “It is about the good things in Bradford.”

When the flash mob came to its conclusion, a ‘splash mob’ took centre stage in City Park’s water feature.

About 30 people from the Bradford-based Mind The Gap theatre company donned wellies and carried umbrellas as they did a synchronised splash about around a block of Yorkshire stone.

Artistic director Tim Wheeler said: “It was called Immovable and is based on the idea we meet blocks and barriers in life. It was also a chance for people to show off and perform.”

Mr Wheeler said the block, which has Immovable written on it, will be in place for the duration of the Urban Festival and that anyone can come along and perform on or around it.

On the Urban Festival, Council leader, Councillor David Green, said: “It is really the start of a season of events to show off and showcase Bradford’s City Park and Bradford in general. I think it will demonstrate that we can deliver high-quality events.

“It will grow over the next few years and become an important fixture.”

He added: “It is about breathing life back into Bradford city centre and the other district centres up and down the valley.”

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, portfolio holder for Employment, Skills And Culture, said about 100 delegates had come from around the world for the Urban Festival. She added: “I am very much excited by the Urban Festival. We are the youngest city outside London and we have to engage all our young people in culture.”

Youth worker Mick Chandsoor, said: “We’ve got so many talented young people in the district. It’s been tremendous bringing these different art forms together and there has been a lot of hard work put in by the young people and staff to plan and rehearse this really exciting event.”

Coun Ralph Berry, portfolio holder for Children’s Services, said: “It’s brilliant to see young people from across our district taking part in the Urban Festival, and showcasing their tremendous talent. It’s a great way to get the festival underway.”

A Big Screen Games event, as part of the Urban Festival, was scheduled for between 5pm and 8pm yesterday. But frustrated families arrived in City Park to discover it had been cancelled.

Coun Hinchcliffe said she wasn’t aware it had been cancelled and didn’t know why it was.