Bradford International Festival's high-profile advertising campaign was unveiled today, with the help of its six special stars.

The winners of the Face of the Festival competition, of all ages and from different walks of life, were hand-picked from hundreds of entrants to be the faces fronting this year's festival.

Their faces will appear on billboards, buses and bus shelters across the district from May to mid June.

The team of judges went for people who reflected the various aspects of Bradford life.

"We wanted to find real people who come to real events," said festival director Neil Butler.

"These are Bradford's ambassadors. Bradford's great strength is that it's a multi-cultural city and as we go into the Capital of Culture bid it is utterly appropriate that we reflect the different cultures here and say this festival offers something for everyone. We wanted to involve Bradford communities from the very beginning."

The winners gathered at Dick Lane, Bradford, for the unveiling of the first billboard. Others will go up around the district.

Emma Pentelow, 25, of Saltaire, said she was excited about seeing her face around the district. "I've told all my friends, and I've got people coming from across the country for the festival," she said.

"The billboard looks great. They're so different and eye-catching that they're bound to attract people's attention.

"The festival is such an important part of Bradford's Capital of Culture bid and this campaign will show that it's very much a people's festival. We need to show that Bradford people are behind the bid."

Six-year-old Zara Syed of Bankfoot said: "All my friends have been asking me about it. It feels funny to see my face up there. I like it."

Phil Boase, a 64-year-old grandfather of Wyke, said: "Because all the faces are multi-coloured it reflects the different cultures here. They're the colours of the rainbow, it looks wonderful."

Nancy Dobson, 48, of Oakworth, said: "I'm looking forward to seeing all the promotional literature that will also feature the faces. It's a really nice idea - the festival is for everyone and this will drive the message home."

Asmaa Hans, 25, of Manningham said seeing her face was "a shock - but a nice one!"

"It looks great, really colourful and bold. I've always supported the festival and hopefully this will bring in people from around the district."

Mohammed Shafiq, 22, said: "Time will tell how effective this is, but it will certainly get people's attention. I'm honoured to be such a big part of it."