People in their thousands watched the Vikings parade through York on their way to the Jorvik Viking Festival finale.
Around 350 Viking warriors and civilians marched from York Minster to Coppergate watched by the large crowd.
And the two main events at the Eye of York, The Viking Games and the Festival Finale: The Realms of Yggdrasil were a sell-out.
Heavy rain fell between 5.30pm and 6.30pm, giving a bleak outlook for those attending the son-et-lumière Festival Finale event.
Happily though, the rain stopped shortly before the fire-dancers, actors and warriors put on a spectacular show.
Festival manager Abigail Judge said: “We were incredibly fortunate with the weather, on what was forecast to be a pretty wet day all around.
“The rain stopped in the morning as our encampment and arena activities kicked off, and then stayed away until they had closed in the evening.
“Then, the heavy rain gave way to cloudy skies for our Festival Finale – and started again just as we were finishing clearing up. Clearly Freyr was smiling on us!”
An impressive muster in Dean’s Park behind York Minster preceded the largest march of recent years with between 300 and 350 costumed re-enactors taking place, led by Danish musicians Ramashang, whose traditional music and drum beats could be heard well-ahead of their arrival.
The Viking Games returned to the festival, having been first seen in May 2022, when visitors watched feats of strength and endurance.
Then the competitors were joined by two armies – warriors joining the foray after marching from the Minster.
The evening event put the tree at the centre of the Eye of York as narrator, playing the role of Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology, which narrated the stories of the nine realms, and the rise and fall of the Norse Gods, culminating in a fiery finale of flame and sparks circling the venue to the delight of crowds.
The 2024 festival concluded today (Sunday 18 February) with events including a competition to find the best beard, best beast and best dressed cosplayer of the week.