Weymouth Carnival 2017 was a summer smasher.

Memories of last year's rain-hit carnival were forgotten as thousands flocked to the town to enjoy two days of sunshine and activities.

Day one came to an end on Tuesday with the torchlight procession which lit up Weymouth Beach.

Weymouth was rammed yesterday for the big events and town centre council car parks were full up by early afternoon as families flocked to the coast.

The beach filled up throughout the day as the weather stayed dry and the sun came out in the afternoon, and it was perfect conditions for a display by carnival favourites the Red Arrows.

All eyes were on the skies for the performance as the jets painted the sky red, white and blue.

The evening procession, described by organisers as 'amazing', was packed with floats, dancing troupes, majorettes, and colourful walking entries.

See all the pictures in our picture gallery - pictures by Dorset Media Service.

The parade did set off late however. It slowly snaked its way along the seafront from the Pavilion to Lodmoor.

Speaking about the delay, Carnival Chairman Ryan Hope said: "There was some confusion over the start point and time.

“In the programme, we advertised that it would start at the Pavilion at 6.30pm, and it started at 6.40pm, so there was a 10-minute delay.

“This is because there were safety concerns that we had to deal with. Traffic was still trying to get past the closure onto the Esplanade.

“Safety is our upmost priority, and we’d rather wait 10 minutes than risk someone’s safety.

“We are working with a new company who carry out the closures and we’ll continue to improve the service.”

Volunteers from the D-Day Museum on Portland brought along military vehicles to join the parade.

Curator of the Castletown D-Day Centre Steve George said: “Obviously this year is our first carnival. Everyone walking alongside our jeeps are volunteers from the D-Day Centre. We wanted to get out in the town so everyone knows we’re there and can see what we’re all about.”

Organisers said the quality of parade entries was so high the winner had to be selected "on the toss of a coin".

The only setback to the day's schedule was the cancellation of The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight display due to a technical fault with one of the aircraft.

Mr Hope said this year’s carnival was busier than ever and thanked everyone who got involved.

He said: “The last two days at Weymouth Carnival have been absolutely fantastic, we hope it has been successful and we have raised more money than previous years for our charities.

“The two-day event brings a lot more people to the town.

“I’d like to thank all the volunteers who gave up part of their summer to support this year’s carnival.”

The second day kicked off with the crowning of this year’s carnival royalty at the New Vic by Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Kevin Brookes.

Samantha McIntosh, 30, was crowned carnival queen alongside this year’s carnival princess Paris Montrose, 13 and junior princess Cerys Jones, 10.

Samantha said: “I am really happy. I am nervous anytime there is a microphone in front of my face, but it has been nice having my family watching.”

A morning of Zumba followed at the Beach Live stage with performances from Zumba Gold (Sister Fitness UK) and also Zumba with Lou Sams. Residents and visitors of all ages joined in the activities.

Victoria Jones, instructor of Zumba Gold said: “It was amazing everyone was brilliant. The aim is to show that Zumba is for everyone and that everyone can move their body.”

During the afternoon, Weymouth Beach was transformed by numerous sculptures, including a lion, a sea monster, a horse and plenty of castles – and there was even a dinosaur.

Cllr Brookes, announced the winners of the competition.

Talking to the crowds, he said: “Thank you all very much for taking park in the sandcastle sand sculpture competition.

“We’ve had some fantastic entries this year.”

There were four categories including four to seven-year-olds, eight to 11-year-olds, 12 plus and new to this year, a family category.

Olivia Ritchie came second in the family category of the competition.

Her mother Kim said: “We are from Weymouth but we hardly ever come down to the beach to be honest.

“Today has been a fantastic day. It’s a lovely family atmosphere and Olivia has loved it.”

Former carnival queen Gina Hartley, who has been helping out at Weymouth Carnival for six years, said: "It's been really, really busy. The rugby has been busy all day and the sandcastle competition was brilliant."

Later Adrian Atkinson of Weymouth Rotary Club described the atmosphere, saying: "Everybody this year has been really nice. The atmosphere down here is fantastic. There's no trouble, everybody is positive and all the children have been very polite. "We've raised some money but also we're just here promoting the Rotary as we're part of the Weymouth community."

Among the crowds was Shirley Connor visiting from Watford, who said: "I'm on holiday visiting my little brother. It's been great so far, although I am disappointed they cancelled the Battle of Britain flight.

"It's so nice to have something like this though, we're from a big town and we don't get anything like this. There is a real local feel."

As crowds sloped off the beach and onto the Esplanade ready for the evening procession they were treated to a noisy motorcade from the Weymouth and Portland Motorcycle Club.

Prepping up for the parade chairman of AFC Chesil Darren Edmonds said: “We’ve gone for a pirate’s theme as it fitted in well with our football kit. It’s just something fun for the kids to get involved with.

“It’s taken a couple of weeks to on and off to get the float together but the parents have been a really, really great help.”

Manager of The Closet and it’s space-themed float Jamie Crage said: “The float took almost too long to get together. The idea that The Closet goes to space just came to us and we went with it.

“We like to get out and take part in the community and we get to have fun why we’re at it.”