Magic men and women descended on Great Yarmouth in their hundreds yesterday, as the seaside town becomes a melting pot of magical minds for five days.

The seafront is hosting the five-day International Brotherhood of Magicians (British Ring) Convention, with more than 500 British acts converging to trade secrets, discuss magical developments and put on two shows for the public. They will be filling the Britannia Pier, the Marina Centre and Hollywood Cinema.

John Pye is the international president of the brotherhood and only the fourth Briton to hold the post. Mr Pye said: 'The Marina Centre has been done up fantastically for us. I have been all round the world for these shows, I'll tell you how Yarmouth compares at the end, but on the surface it looks fine.

'Last time we came (in 1991) it was very hard work, but the town has greatly improved since then.'

Councillor Michael Jeal, cabinet member for tourism, said: 'This is excellent, it means the summer season is extended a little bit, it helps hotels and brings a bit more business. It puts us on the map as well. I am confident we can host even bigger events.'

The public are invited to two shows; puppet Sooty and his children's Magic Show is at 10.30am on Saturday and Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee headline a Gala of Magic at 8pm that evening, both at The Britannia Pier Theatre.

See www.edp24.co.uk for video and more pictures from the opening event.