30,000 celebrate Krishna carnival

Up to 30,000 people swarmed into Trafalgar Square for a carnival marking a 5,000-year-old Indian tradition.

The square was a sea of colour as record crowds made the most of the brilliant sunshine for the east-west celebration of the 33rd international Rath Yatra festival.

Colourful floats, musicians, dancers, costumed artists, bullock carts, stalls, music and plays were among the attractions in central London.

Organisers said the highlight of the event was when 5,000 people took it in turns to pull a 50ft chariot from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square.

To the chant of "Hare Krishna", the procession passed through main thoroughfares and culminated in a public festival where consecrated images of Lord Jagannath, a form of the Indian god Krishna, were placed at the base of Nelson's Column.

The organisers, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, distributed free food to all the revellers throughout the afternoon.

The Rath Yatra is a 5,000-year-old festival commemorating Lord Krishna and is held annually in the Indian city of Puri. It was first brought to London in 1968.

Spokesperson Nima Suchak said the event, renowned as the largest annual procession of Hindus outside London, had been a big success.