Hundreds celebrate colourful Holi festival in the Quayside's Baltic Square

Colours were thrown at the festival's finale. Credit: ITV News Tyne Tees

A Hindu festival dedicated to spring, love and new life was celebrated in Gateshead today.

Baltic Square was covered in brightly-coloured paint as revellers celebrated the festival of Holi.

The international festival was actually held on Wednesday 8 March, but Saturday's event is the biggest celebration of the Hindu festival of colours in the North East.

Bollywood dance performances and art workshops took place in the Baltic Centre throughout the afternoon, with Henna painting also on offer, while spectators on Baltic Square were treated to drumming, DJ and dance performances.

A huge ‘colour throwing’ finale took place at the end of the afternoon in Baltic Square.

There were smiles all round. Credit: ITV News Tyne Tees

GemArts and Baltic organised the Holi festival of colours event, which culminated in a huge colour throwing finale in Baltic Square. The event was open to anyone of any faith – or those with none.

Vikas Kumar, director of GemArts, said: "We’ve had all sorts of things happening in the Baltic today, lots of workshops, and we’ve had lots of performances as well, and it’s culminated in this big extravaganza of colour in Baltic Square, with the epic backdrop of the Tyne as well.

"It’s a Hindu festival and it’s a big celebration, people just coming together, joyous, lots of love, lots of positivity as well, and I think you can absolutely see that.

"The colour signifies that, the onset of spring as things bloom, and we show that by throwing colour as well."

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