A 170-strong choir opened Bradford Festival in style last night, performing choral classics to a rapt audience in City Park.

The three-day music and arts extravaganza got under way with a performance by the Bradford Festival Choral Society.

A burst of rain mid-way through the performance didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd, with many audience members simply getting out their brollies.

Bradford Festival Choral Society were joined by the Bradford Catholic Youth Choir and the award-winning Skipton Building Society Camerata, one of the North’s finest professional orchestras, for the show.

The choir performed the 24 movements from Carl Orff’s cantata Carmina Burana, beginning with the rousing classic, O Fortuna, which many remember from the 1970s Old Spice TV commercial.

The programme also included Handel’s Zadok the Priest, the Hallelujah Chorus and Verdi’s Anvil Chorus.

After the success of last weekend’s Bollywood Carmen at the same venue, highlights from Bizet’s classic opera Carmen were performed by lyric mezzo soprano Hannah Mason, from English National Opera.

City Park-based Bradford Festival enters its second day today, with Spice Entertainment Bollywood Dancers set to wow the crowds with performances at 4pm, 7.45pm and 8.45pm.

The Strictly Come Dancing Singers with Lance Ellington and the All Star Big Band will take to the stage today at 8pm.

And tomorrow, the weekend of fun will be rounded off with an International Mela.

Srishti Yuva Culture will perform authentic South Indian classical music and dance at 3pm.

There will also be a performance by the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers at 4pm, with Bollywood Brass Band and Rafaqat Ali Khan bringing the festival to a close at 8.30pm.

Throughout the weekend, a host of off-shoot music and theatre events are planned for venues across the city.