BURY staged its own version of the Olympics when it hosted a four-day International Youth Sports Festival.

The sporting prowess of around 500 boys and girls aged between 13 and 16 was showcased during the event which is in its 20th year. Youngsters from Bury competed against visitors from France, Italy, Portugal and Germany.

The Rock shopping centre held a spectacular launch for the festival last Thursday night.

During the next two days, the teenagers competed in tennis, basketball,athletics, football, gymnastics and swimming.

Various venues hosted the events, including the Castle Leisure Centre, Broad Oak High School and the Bury Athletics track.

And there was home pride for the Bury squad which triumphed in athletics, football, gymnastics and swimming. The festival coincided with the Olympic torch passing through Bury, and was watched by representatives from the teams, drawn from Angouleme and Tulle in France, Dueville in Italy, Lousada in Portugal and Schorndorf in Germany.

Bury Council’s leisure, tourism and culture spokesman, Cllr Joanne Columbine, said: “It was a great honour to be involved and I couldn’t have been more pleased to be a part of it.

“The young people from Portugal, France, Germany and Bury embraced their sporting responsibilities but also seemed to have a lot of fun.

All were brilliant ambassadors for their sports and their countries. Young people from local schools and colleges also helped out and they did the town proud too.”