THOUSANDS defied the weather and turned out to enjoy Rhythms of the World at the weekend.

The event, held in Hitchin Priory grounds, saw thousands pass through the gates over the two days, to see the likes of Jassis Sidhu, JuJu, The Boxettes, The Damned, Young Knives, Speech Debelle, Little Roy, and Molotov Jukebox perform.

There was also a range of family entertainment and food and craft stalls on offer.

Although Saturday’s performances had to be delayed by two hours because of the bad weather, the festival was described by organisers as a success.

Cath Cole, RotW head of communications, told the Comet: “We have had a good time, people have just really got into spirit. With the summer we have had, what does a bit of mud matter. Considering what we have been up against, it’s been fantastic.

“Everybody’s just got right into it. I think if somebody comes to Rhythms, they are a special kind of person.

“What I love about the festival, is there’s stuff that people wouldn’t normally listen to, then they say ‘wow, that’s really brilliant’.”

Organisers also thanked the 800 volunteers that make the festival possible each year.

Many are now in the process of packing and cleaning up the site. RotW will also have to meet costs of repairing the grounds.

Cath added: “Thierry, from the Priory, has been fantastic. A lot of other venues would have said no to going ahead [because of the weather], but they have been great.

“We just have to get the grounds back in the state we found them.”

Police reported that there were no incidents or crime relating to the festival over the weekend.

• Click on the link in the top right-hand corner to see a gallery of Alan Millard’s pictures.