THE colourful sight of Indian dancers, many of whom are blind, was one of the highlights of a celebration of different cultures.

Durham Town Hall hosted a Diversity Day, held to coincide with Remembrance Day and the Anne Frank exhibition, being held in the city's cathedral.

The group Natyanjali, from Bangalore, in India, is visiting the region and holding workshops in local schools.

Its members performed a series of intricate dances to the sound of Indian music.

Other attractions included Seikou Suso, who plays the Gambian Kuro, an African harp, Trinidadian calypso group Panjumbi, and displays of Palestinian crafts and Chinese kite-making.

The event was staged by Darlington and Durham County Racial Equality Council, with support from the National Lottery's Awards For All programme, and Durham City Arts.

Its chairman Pat Poinen said: "It is a good way of promoting cultural diversity, stressing the importance of racial equality.

"We have to wake up to the fact that the UK is a multi-cultural society.

"We also need to celebrate the richness we get from cultural diversity. Today is a perfect example of that, where people from different cultures mix together, and are aware of the issues of racism.''