THREE thousand campers arrived at Parley on Friday for day one of the Bournemouth 7s Festival.

Now in its ninth year, the three-day event sees sport and music fans enjoy a total of 1,500 rugby, netball, dodgeball, and hockey matches over the course of the weekend.

At this year’s sell-out festival, 30,000 people and nearly 400 sports teams from across the world are heading to Bournemouth Sports Club.

Festival owner Roger Woodall said the first day had been “absolutely amazing”.

“It’s set to be a cracking weekend. The sun has been shining on us so far, and 30,000 people have been celebrating our ninth birthday in the main arena.

“It’s a very exciting place to be,” he added.