Bradford Festival should know by now the pitfalls of organising the event to coincide with Wimbledon fortnight.

The launch of the annual festivities was greeted once again by leaden skies and drizzle.

But the June rain which seems to blight tennis's top tournament every year as well as Bradford's summer celebration did not put too much of a damper on the start of the Guinness Festival Fling.

Speaking at yesterday's launch in Centenary Square, Bradford Council leader Councillor Ian Greenwood said the festival contributed towards creating a vibrant city centre which was people-friendly and attractive to visitors.

"It is recognised as one of the largest and most important community-based festivals in this country," he said. "It draws upon the great tradition of community strength within our various communities and proudly promotes Bradford's multicultural heritage."

The wet weather kept crowd numbers down for the launch which kicked off the Guinness Festival Fling, a three-day celebration of Celtic music.

But those revellers who did brave the elements were soon into the swing of it, helped by a little drop of the black stuff supplied by the fling's sponsors.

Organisers were relieved to see the launch go off smoothly after a mix-up in the morning when the Duke of Wellington's Regiment arrived expecting to be able to use Centenary Square for a day's recruitment drive.

* An exhibition of drawings and paintings inspired by Bradford Festival will go on show at the South Square Gallery, in Thornton, from July 4 to September 1. The exhibition, called The East In The north, is by Jake Attree.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.