Thousands attend Bristol Harbour Festival

Crowds were treated to a light show and smaller firework display than previous years

Bristol's Harbour Festival has attracted about 250,000 people over the weekend despite cutting back on its large-scale fireworks display.

The festival began on Friday night with a concert on Queen Square followed by a light show and the downsized fireworks.

Bristol is European Green Capital this year so organisers are trying to make it more environmentally friendly.

Bristol Council's head of culture, Laura Pye, described the light show, also shown on Saturday, as "fantastic".

This whale sculpture including 70,000 plastic bottles was unveiled in time for the festival

She told BBC Radio Bristol: "With Green Capital year we felt we should move it on a bit and do something a bit different.

"We're doing an amazing light show at the end, just to try something new and see how that works.

"Technology has moved on and the laser show is going to be fantastic. It's a great end that's slightly more environmentally friendly in Green Capital year."

The Bristol Harbour Festival has featured music, art, theatre, circus and dance performances, as well as celebrating Bristol's maritime culture.

Events on the water included dragon boat racing, paddleboarding, battleships, cardboard boat races, and trips on the historic vessels Pyronaut or the John King.

Up to 250,000 are thought to have flocked to the harbourside over the weekend

Hundreds of boats are moored in Bristol Harbour for the festival