THOUSANDS of people turned out for the first two days of the Orange Darlington Festival over the weekend for a feast of music and street entertainment.

And thousands more are expected for the closing night of the event this evening, headlined by tribute bands to two of pop's biggest acts.

West-lives will perform the hits of Irish boy band Westlife, while Paul Reason will sing chart-topping songs by Robbie Williams, as the main entertainment draws to a conclusion in Darlington Market Square.

This will be followed by a fireworks display spreading light across the whole town centre and drawing the event to a close.

More than 7,000 people are believed to have enjoyed Saturday's opening night line-up, launched by Century FM DJ Paul "Goffy" Gough and starring Madonna tribute act Vogue, and U2 mimics ZU2.

And thousands more turned out last night to see another packed musical line-up featuring Aaron Bayley, the Newcastle singer who wowed Saturday night television audiences reaching the final ten of ITV's Pop Idol.

Bayley's set included a performance of his new single, Walking in Memphis, one of the tracks he covered on the hit show.

Michelle Parkes, of Darlington Borough Council, which is putting on the event, said: "It's going really well."

She said the hope was for another huge turn-out tonight to finish the show.

Throughout the weekend, street entertainers have been performing a variety of acts, from Punch and Judy to stilt-walking in the Market Square, and that will continue this afternoon.

Road closures will continue to be in place around the town centre today, including Tubwell Row - which will remain closed until noon tomorrow - East Row, Bull Wynd and Horsemarket.

High Row and Post House Wynd will be closed from 6pm to 7pm, while Church Lane footpath will be closed to pedestrians from 7pm to 11pm.

The festival is presented by Darlington Borough Council, with sponsorship by Orange and support from The Northern Echo and Century FM.

Orange spokeswoman Maureen Dixon said: "It's great to see everybody enjoying themselves and having such a good time. It's a real family atmosphere.