THOUSANDS of revellers turned up to the third Goan Summer Festival at the County Ground athletics track on Saturday.

About 3,000 people came along to the event – organised by Goan Swindon Association – to enjoy attractions, including singing, plays and traditional food.

Association president Santana Souza said: “The aim was to get together to show our culture to our neighbours.

“It was a very good day. At the end there were about 3,000 people.”

The festival saw the athletics track transformed into a festival ground with a large stage and a range of stalls selling Goan food.

Several singers performed Goan traditional folk songs in English, Portuguese and Konkani – the native language of Goa.

Tony Rock, a professional singer from Goa, delighted the crowd when he performed songs in all three languages with his band. There were Goan bands and a violin ensemble.

Everyone joined in to sing the Mando, the folk songs of Goa, which have been sung in the country for centuries.

Children of Goan origin, who attend Swindon schools, performed Bollywood and Indian classical dances. The festival also featured bolkavant gozali, which are short skits or plays.

The chief guest was Francisco Silveira, a member of the Goan Legislative Assembly, who was in Europe for a pilgrimage to Rome, Portugal and Lourdes.

He spoke from the stage, explaining how happy he was to see all the Goan people united as a community in Swindon.

The festival raised about £2,000 towards the construction of a community building.