TOWN centre shoppers got into the festival spirit yesterday with the arrival of a mischievous court jester.

The surprise guest was on hand to help at the official launch of the St George’s Day Festival and Talent Competition that is coming to town on Sunday, April 23.

The inSwindon team tasked with organising the packed day of events hopes to draw huge crowds and encourage Swindon to get into the St George’s spirit.

Video auditions for the 2017 Best of Swindon Talent Competition also took place at the Wyvern Theatre yesterday afternoon.

A judging panel featuring leading town centre figures alongside the Mayor of Swindon and Miss Wiltshire Tourism 2016 came up with a shortlist of seven finalists.

The eighth finalist will be chosen by you, the people of Swindon, through inSwindon’s Facebook page. The online vote was due to go live yesterday evening.

The act with the most likes will join the other seven finalists live on stage for the big day.

Di Powell, inSwindon BID manager, said: “This year’s entries were a very high standard and we had such a hard task to shortlist them down to seven finalists.

“I can’t wait for them to perform live on stage and find out who will be crowned this year’s winner.”

The winner of the competition will be chosen on the day and will receive a fantastic prize – the chance to perform at this year’s Swindon Town Centre Christmas Lights Switch On – usually attended by more than 10,000 people. They will also win £250 worth of shopping vouchers to spend in the town centre.