Dark clouds couldn’t dampen the spirits of thousands of revellers who attended the final Harbour Nights of the summer last night.

In what must have been one of the busiest nights Front Street has witnessed in several years, tourists and locals soaked up the carnival atmosphere, stopping at vendor stores to buy local merchandise, and sampling refreshments from dozens of food stalls and trucks.

Organisers had promised that last night’s event, which has been running every Wednesday evening since the beginning of June, promised that last night’s climax would be the biggest street festival of them all. They didn’t disappoint.

Ed Christopher, the City of Hamilton Town Cryer, opened up proceedings. Afterwards he told The Royal Gazette that it was one of the biggest Harbour Night crowds he had seen.

He said: “It’s great. It’s been like this all summer. The vendors are doing great, people are coming out and enjoying themselves.

“Even before 7pm, the streets were busy. There seem to be even more vendors here than before Covid in 2019.

“People have been wanting to come out and do something and you can tell that they love it because they keep coming back. Locals are coming and then we’ve had more tourists this year. Hopefully it will be like this next year – hopefully it’ll be better.“

Lucinda Worrell-Stowe, owner of candle store Positive Energy, was doing a brisk trade.

She said: “It’s been an excellent summer. I don’t think I’ve seen so many people – Bermudians and tourists alike. It’s come back with a bang.

“We’ve had Bermudians coming down and buying Bermuda-made products, which is exciting

Resident Ideitha James is usually a regular at the event.

She said: “So far so good. I’m upset that it’s the last week for it – I’ve been away and so this is my first time this year. It’s a terrific atmosphere – seeing old friends and just catching up.”

Tony Paige, a journalist from New Jersey, was visiting the island with his Bermudian wife.

“I love the place, it’s good food and a good atmosphere. Every time I come here it’s a wonderful experience.

One of the highlights of the event was a fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity in which local celebrities were challenged to take on “outrageous challenges” in exchange took on a challenge in exchange for donations.

One of the first volunteers to take the stage was Carika Weldon, a former Government scientist who set up and ran the Molecular Diagnostic and Research Laboratory, which carried out thousands of Covid-19 tests during the pandemic last year.

Dr Weldon, who was named Woman of the Year in March, showed that she has many talents – the medic had the crowd in raptures as she belted out Whitney Houston’s ballad I will Always Love You.

Stepping down from the stage, Dr Weldon told The Royal Gazette: “I was very, very nervous, but as the crowd started cheering me on, it got better and better.

“It’s all for a good cause, encouraging our young people to grow up in a nice environment. I’m just happy to be a part.”

Kendaree Burgess, the chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce, which organises the event, said the weekly street spectacles had been a huge success for vendors.

She said: “Attendance has been fantastic and by most accounts sales are higher than in recent years – including 2019.

Butterfield has hit a home run with the vendors, refunding the fees for those seasonal vendors for the second year in a row.

“We are always grateful for the support of our sponsors (City of Hamilton, Butterfield, BTA, Butterfield & Vallis and One comm, and event partners BPS, BFRS and St Johns Ambulance for making it all happen.