Seafront celebrates first City Day festival

Revellers enjoyed one of 70 performances put on across Southend's seafront

Thousands of people joined celebrations for Southend's first City Day.

The event on Saturday was held three years to the date since the area was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

The all-day festival included live performances from actors, singers and dancers, and was headlined by Basildon-born actress and presenter Denise Van Outen, who hosted a DJ set in the evening.

Southend City Council leader, Labour's Daniel Cowan, said some 50,000 people enjoyed the "amazing" event.

"City Day is about showing people what Southend is, and really trying to capture that civic pride that we want all people to have in the place that they live," he said.

Some 50,000 people joined in celebrations for Southend's first City Day

The Music Man Project's performance had extra significance as the city's late MP, Sir David Amess, had been its president

Southend City Stage and the Southend City Songwriters Stage saw community choirs, amateur dramatic groups and bands performing.

Southend Vox choir got the crowds going

A sunny day greeted people attending Southend-on Sea's first City Day

More than 30 artists helped to transform the city centre with their street art at a live outdoor painting event, led by local artist Andy Downes.

People with street-facing windows were encouraged to decorate them for the day.

Artists were dotted across the city centre painting landscapes and city scapes

Sir David Amess spent years campaigning for Southend-on-Sea to become a city before he was murdered by a terrorist in 2021.

The bestowment of city status came after a lifetime of campaigning from Southend's former MP, Sir David Amess, a veteran Conservative and Southend West MP.

Sir David's greatest wish was awarded a year after he was murdered during a constituency surgery in October 2021.