Organisers of this year's Keighley Festival say the success of the event can provide a boost for Bradford's Capital of Culture bid.

Festival chairman Peter Halliwell said the eight-day festival had shown that Keighley had a vital role to play in Bradford's bid to become Capital of Culture in 2008.

Mr Halliwell said that despite the distractions of the World Cup, the mixture of music, dance, cultural and sporting events still pulled in the crowds.

He added: "We haven't got the feedback from everyone yet but the feeling is that this year's festival has been a tremendous success. There has been a good range of community events and I think with a little more effort it could get bigger each year."

The festival kicked off in fine style with the opening event in Town Hall Square featuring demonstrations from Fitness First, and health of men advisors.

The historic vehicle rally at Marley was well attended and the sportKarnival at Oakbank School, which featured a 200ft high bungee jump, also proved to be a crowd puller, although heavy rain led to the cancellation of some events such as the Kabbadi demonstration.

The display of Asian arts and crafts at the Sangat Centre was the "best ever" according to Mr Halliwell, with a steady stream of visitors. A country dancing evening with Dansette, in Haworth, and a line dancing evening with The Haley's were well enjoyed by crowds of around 60 and 90 people respectively.

Hundreds of people descended on Cliffe Castle on Saturday for a family fun day, with a host of children's entertainers keeping the crowd happy.

The festival was brought to a close with a flypast of model aircraft at Marley and a model boat regatta at Keighley Tarn.

Mr Halliwell said: "We would like to thank all those people who participated in the events and especially to those members of the Keighley public who got up off their backsides to come and support us."

Anyone who would like to join Keighley Festival Committee or would like more information can contact Peter Halliwell on 01535 216936.