Seaside parade by 4,000 children

The festival has been run yearly in the city since the 1960s

More than 4,000 children have been taking part in the children's parade that marks the start of the 40th Brighton Festival.

The parade by children from 70 primary schools started at Sydney Street and ended at the seafront on Saturday.

They sang City By The Sea, written for them by members of The Levellers, the Brighton-based band.

Violinist Jon Sevink, whose son Spike was taking part, said the song was a celebration of the city.

He said: "I hope the kids grow up remembering it as a great day out and hopefully the song will last longer than this one celebration."

Thousands of children take part in the festival every year

Actress Patsy Palmer and DJ Zoe Ball are expected to take part in singing on the beachfront on Saturday afternoon.

Organisers of this year's festival have promised 10 world premieres and five UK premieres on the programme.

The programme includes more than 700 arts events, including theatre, dance, performance, music and literature events and activities for children and families.

BBC South East has set up a special website to follow the three-week arts festival.

And festival goers are being asked to review everything they see in 40 words for the BBC.

Forty Words post boxes have been set up across the city and there is a daily prize for the best review.