Up to 70,000 people will visit a temple today as part of a festival.

Thousands of people will visit the Bhaktivedanta Manor for Europe's biggest and most spectacular Janmashtami festival, celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna.

The Hare Krishna temple will be brought to life with the sound of music, dancing, stage shows, face painting, stalls selling books, fresh organic produce, jewellery, musical instruments, and CDs.

For those that have worked up an appetite, there will be a selection of sweet and savoury Indian vegetarian food available.

One of the highlights of the festival will be the recreation of the beautiful forests of Vrindavan in India, where Lord Krishna played when he was growing up.

A special ceremony to celebrate the birth of Lord will take place at midnight on Sunday 17 August.

Around 1,500 volunteers, aged 16 to 94, will be giving up their time to take part in helping to set up the grounds for the festival, which has taken around a month to plan.

Srutidharma Dasa, Temple President of Bhaktivedanta Manor said: "Janmashtami is without doubt the most special day in our calendar, because it marks the birth of Lord Krishna. The atmosphere at Bhaktivedanta Manor is just magical, and we are proud to be hosting the biggest birthday party for Lord Krishna in Europe.

"We are indebted to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers that have committed hours of their time to get the festival ready for the thousands of visitors that will come to the temple this weekend. It promises to be a spectacular event."