More than 50,000 people, including foreign tourists, participated in the third “Jhamsikhel-The British School Street Festival 2016” on Friday.

The one-day event, jointly organised by Jhamsikhel Youth Club and The British School Kathmandu, featured Nepali Folk music and dance, rock concert,  Western classical music, including Operas and Choirs, standup comedy shows. The British School Kathmandu co-organized the festival to mark the school’s 50th anniversary of establishment. With more than 50 stalls ranging from food to textile, handicrafts, face painting, among others, the festival drew more than 50,000 people, including foreigners, said Sandan Thapa Magar, chairperson of Jhamsikhel Youth Club.

“We have been organising the festival in every four years since 2008. A festival like this has been pivotal in promoting internal and external tourism of Jhamsikhel,” Thapa Magar said. The main attraction of the festival was the rock concert, featuring famous bands Mukti and Revival, Anuprastha, and Cobweb, along with Lok Dohori performances by Komal Oli, Badgri Pangeni, and Prity Ale. The standup comedy by Raja Rajendra, Purna Thapa, and Ravi Dangol was also a big hit among the crowd, he explained.

The festival organisers honoured veteran marathon runner and Olympian Baikuntha Manandhar with cash rewards. Players and officials of Jhamsikhel Youth Club football teams were also felicitated for their role in promoting the club from ‘C’ to ‘B’ division in the national league.

During the festival, the “Brit Rock” concert was organised for a charitable cause. According to the organisers, the proceeds from the stalls and concert tickets will be used to fund rebuilding schools devastated by the earthquake in Dhading and Lalitpur, said Stevie Priest, vice principal of The British School Kathmandu.