Arts by the Sea festival gets under way

The event is a celebration of art, culture and creativity

A free arts festival has taken over a seaside town for the weekend.

Arts by the Sea has officially opened in Bournemouth for its 13th annual celebration of art, culture and creativity.

A full-scale dress rehearsal by headline act Bourne to Love, curated by Cirque Bijou, took place on Thursday night, giving residents a taster of some of the acrobatic acts to come.

The event, which runs until Sunday, will feature installations, walkabout acts and performances across Bournemouth's Lower Gardens, seafront, town centre and beyond.

Aerial performers and glowing umbrellas were seen in the rehearsals on Thursday

The festival has been praised for designing a sensory, descriptive, guided tour for people living with sight loss.

Leigh Hayler, public engagements officer for the event, said she also suffers from a slight visual impairment so it was something "close to her heart".

She will be the tour guide for the weekend and said they worked alongside local charity Dorset Blind to make it "as good an experience as possible".