Hundreds of people gathered on Ripon Market Square yesterday for the last large-scale public event of the summer organised by the city council.

Families with children from tots to teenagers came early in the  afternoon to ride the Ferris wheel and roundabout, both of which proved a constant draw until dusk, when tribute acts took centre stage in front of the town hall.

The queue for the Ferris wheel stretched the length of Market Square

Evening entertainment was provided by tribute acts playing the hits of Neil Diamond, Elton John and Robbie Williams, while the Big Boyband Reunion, played a selection of the chart-topping songs made famous by leading boy bands.

The crowd on Market Square steadily grew throughout the evening.

One of the concert highlights came when the Neil Diamond lookalike and soundalike sang Sweet Caroline, the adopted anthem of the England women’s football team.

Sweet Caroline struck a chord with the Ripon crowd

The Robbie Williams tribute act

Elton John’s Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me rang out before sunset arrived and at 9pm Allison Clark, a member of the Ripon hornblower team (pictured below) provided a reminder of the city’s ancient roots, by performing the nightly setting of the watch ceremony, which has reputedly been carried out  without break for more than eleven hundred years.

You can watch a live video from last night on our Facebook page.

More free Bank Holiday entertainment

The free family-focused entertainment continues in Ripon on Monday, with a street party in Kirkgate from 11am until 4pm and a Spanish-themed fiesta on Minster Gardens from 5pm until 9.30pm.

Organised by independent businesses in the city as part of the Totally Locally initiative developed with Ripon BID, the Bank Holiday event will see the closure of Kirkgate from 9am.