A FESTIVAL celebrating Bournemouth’s gay community is expected to be bigger than ever.

The three-day Bourne Free event is now in its ninth year and will include a free family evening tomorrow, celebrity acts on Saturday and a get-together and church service on Sunday morning.

The festival celebrates the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community of Bournemouth but organisers have organised a free family film, games and barbecue at The Triangle from 6pm tomorrow to get all parts of the community involved.

There will be a bucking bronco as well as traditional games like hook-a-duck, with circus games and a bucking bronco machine.

The film Flushed Away will be shown before a Pink tribute act.

On Saturday a parade will start at the East Cliff and go through town to end at the Triangle before the entertainment starts there, with £10 tickets available at the gate, over-18s only allowed there on that day.

There will be performances on stage by headline act Rylan Clark and DJ Brandon Block will be playing. Volunteers have held fundraisers over the last year to pay for the event.

It is being officially opened by Bournemouth’s mayor at the free entertainment for all at the Lower Gardens Bandstand at 1.15pm on Saturday, where S Club 7 singer Jo O’Meara will headline before the 5pm finish.

Chairman Pete Lovegrove hopes all members of the community will attend.

He said: “Our prime focus this year is on getting people down on Friday night to enjoy what we are putting on.”

Rob Hazell, at Flirt Café at the Triangle, added: “It looks bigger than ever and I take my hat off to the volunteers.”