Thousands of people packed the streets of Hamilton for the annual Bermuda Day Parade today.

Family members and friends new and old came together under sunny skies for the event which this year had the theme “What We Share”.

Revellers lined Front Street in camp chairs and under tents stocked with catering trays and bar set-ups, as the sounds of soca and steel drum music played from speakers ahead of the start of the event.

The parade included more than 50 different groups, including bands, dance troupes, and of course Gombeys.

Anita Masters, 71, said that the holiday was about celebrating her home.

Ms Masters, from Southampton, said of Bermuda: “It’s my life.”

She said that the parade represented well the best of what the island and its people had to offer. Ms Masters added: “It’s all about family and friends coming together.”

Pembroke resident Paulette Burrows said she had been to every parade since the first in 1979.

The 66-year-old added: “I haven’t missed one.”

Ms Burrows said that the holiday was about honouring her home and its people.

She added: “You get to see people that you haven’t seen for a long time.

“It makes you realise that no matter what we go through, that we’re still together.

“And that’s how Bermuda is.”

Ms Burrows said that the day reflected what Bermuda and its people were all about.

She added that tourists had felt comfortable to stop and ask for information about the event. “They can see that Bermuda comes together.”

New Jersey residents Jamey Canterbury, 38, and wife Jessica, 35, were visiting the island for the first time.

Both described their first Bermuda Day Parade experience as overwhelmingly positive.

Ms Canterbury said that people had been “nothing but friendly”.

She added of the parade: “It’s kind of got a community feel, for sure.”

Mr Canterbury added: “It’s been great.

“We’re really just here to learn and take it all in.”

• Vasco Da Gama Club was the winner of the National Heritage Float Award. Second place went to Sandys Secondary Middle School, and third place to Prospect Primary School.

Winner of the Art Float Award was the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs. Second place was the Department of ICT Policy and Innovation Cybertips, and third was Dellwood Middle School.