A colourful parade with samba dancers, giant puppets and drummers kicked off a festival celebrating inspirational and pioneering women.

Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend Oxford International Women’s Festival, which began yesterday with the carnival-style parade.

Shoppers lined Cornmarket Street to watch festival organisers march through the city centre with masks, banners and music.

They were also handed programmes detailing more than 40 planned events including drumming bands, dance, talks and films.

Anne Mobbs, who launched the festival 20 years ago, said: “The crowds really enjoyed it and we gave out lots of lots of programmes for the festival.

“It will be absolutely fantastic — there is something for everyone.

“It is celebrating women’s creativity and achievement and also campaigning for equality and campaigning against violence against women.”

Women in the city planned the 16-day celebration to coincide with International Women’s Day, on Sunday, March 8.

The launch parade started at Oxford Town Hall at 10am and finished in Broad Street.

A giant woman puppet, known as a gigantona and made by people in Oxford’s Nicaraguan twin town of Leon, led the procession.

Sofia Sanchez Sirias, who helped make the puppet, and Milagros Mairena Delgado, who works for a women’s human rights project in Leon, both flew to Oxford to take part in the festival. Jane Mercer, of the Oxford-Leon Association, said members of the group raised money to fund a Nicaraguan co-operative to make the gigantona.

She said: “It is part of a long cultural tradition in Central America. The woman is big and powerful and we thought it would be a wonderful idea to have a gigantona made in Suffragette colours.

“Milagros has come to speak about the position of women in Nicaragua.

“It is a very male dominated society and women have few rights and many of them are subjected to violence.”

Gary Biggam, 51, who watched the parade during a visit to Oxford from Shropshire, said: “It was very good. Nice and noisy. It’s nice to see some colours and lots of kids involved.”

Oxford International Women’s Festival is funded by The Big Lottery Fund, Oxfordshire Community Grassroots Grants, Oxfam and private donors.

The programme of events is designed to educate, entertain, enrich and celebrate women’s achievements.

For more details, visit oxfordwomen.co.uk