A parade today rounded off a colourful week of festivities in Margate supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The Margate Pride 2016 celebrations began on Monday and will run until tomorrow.

Organisers more than 2,000 visitors are thought to have watched the parade celebrating alternative culture, community activism and local and international talent.

Dan Chilcott, director of Margate Pride, said: “Pride celebrations in the UK are especially important this summer.

“The LGBT community has seen a rise in hate crimes against them in the last year, not just in the UK but worldwide, notably the murder of 49 people in Orlando earlier this summer.

“In Margate we wanted to incorporate the ever-growing arts community in our fantastic, resurgent seaside town, not only reaching out to the existing LGBT community, but also the wider community.”

The parade started at 2pm at Turner Contemporary before heading to Marine Drive.

After the parade reacheed the clock tower, DJs and entertainment began outside Sundowners Bar with family games and a market place offering goods by LGBT artists and makers.

The Pride after party will then take place from 6pm in Dreamland as Slow Club Rebecca, Josh You Are and Kris di Angelis entertain crowds with performance artists and drag acts joining in the fun.

Livin’ Joy will also be there to perform I’m a Dreamer.

Organisers are calling it the perfect warm up for their Cockles and Muscles Pride party in Dreamland’s roller disco. The theme is summer of love and people are being encouraged to dress up in hippy 70s or rave 90s styles.

Cockles and Muscles organiser Amy Redmond said: “I’m so proud to be involved in Margate Pride. It’s a contemporary, progressive, ground breaking queer arts festival that will really put Margate on the map.”

The week-long celebration is being run by Margate Pride CIC.

Highlights include exhibitions by artist Jonny Briggs at the Margate Arts Club, Simon Foxall and Alexander Glass at Resort Studios and Jacob Love collaborating with people in Thanet to make new work for his Margate shop, Plinth.