A GLITTERING sequence ball marked the end of Southampton's Over-50's Festival at the weekend.

Ladies sparkled and gentlemen dazzled at the ball on Friday evening, which was a sell-out.

The ball at Southampton Guildhall was the culmination of a packed programme of events for the city's over-50s, which included tea dances, a river cruise from Ocean Village and a tour of The Mayflower theatre.

Last Sunday more than 70 over-50s gathered for a tea dance at a Southampton park where tennis was swapped for sequence dancing. They were also treated to some big-stepping dance routines from the Southampton-based Belinda's Babes dance school.

One of the top attractions of the festival was the visit to the Mayflower Theatre. A party of more than 60 were met by the theatre's head of operations Paul Lewis who took them through the theatre's 75-year history. They were then taken on a tour of the auditorium and went backstage to see the props and dressing rooms where over the years various stars have prepared to step on to the stage.

And during the festival 11 couples who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries this year received a special invitation to tea by Southampton's mayor, Councillor Dennis Harryman.