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 |  | In 2004, Shakespeare's birthday brought a day to remember, with beautiful sunshine, thousands of people and a very happy atmosphere.
| Ìý |  | A young member of the crowd dressed up for the occasion
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Three days of celebrations happen in Stratford every year to remember Shakespeare on the weekend closest to his birthday on 23 April, which also happens to be St.George's Day.
The main day, Saturday, has a procession, a ceremony of flags and a host of street entertainment.
ÌýTake a look at the fun in all the sunshine by pressing the images button below. This will launch a gallery of photographs from the highlights of the 2004 events.
Ìý| Ìý |  | One of the procession ladies in full costume
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The main event for the Birthday Celebrations on Saturday was the formal procession, which drew a huge crowd that lined streets all along the three-mile route.
Eager crowds gathered a full hour before the procession started, enjoying the excuse to soak up rare British sunshine!
The procession was made up of local dignitaries, people in Elizabethan costume,Ìýforeign ambassadors, actors and many more fans and followers of Shakespeare.
They walked, smiling all the way, past the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and into the town for the flag ceremony.
ÌýCeremony of unfurling flags
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| Ìý |  | Two of the crowd happy to be in Stratford in the sun
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The ceremony of unfurling flags took place in the stunning setting of Bridge Street, Henley Street, High Street and Union Street.
The flag poles stretched off into the horizon on Bridge Street, glistening in the sun.
Flags of many nations were simultaneously unfurled, to applause from the crowd, in a symbol of unity.
At the same time, banners representing all the works by Shakespeare are unfurled on flag poles lining the streets.
Ìý| Ìý |  | Some of the children really making the most of the procession
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After the Ceremony of Unfurling the Flags, the main procession moved on through the town and was followed by a throng of school children.
Following tradition, the boys from Shakespeare's old school (King Edward VI) led the way, followed by hundreds of children of all ages from other local schools.
The teenagers may have wished to be anywhere but in a hot blazer on a Saturday, but they hid it fairly well, while the younger kids seemed to be loving the attention of the crowds.
Ìý| Ìý |  | Ready to lay flowers on Shakespeare's grave
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Both processions ended at Holy Trinity Church, to lay flowers at Shakespeare's grave inside.
Helped by music from a number of brass bands, the graveyard took on an unusually pleasant atmosphere.
Procession members and on-lookers smiled and chatted in the sunshine, surrounded by trees and flowers in full bloom.
Meanwhile, the fun continued in the town's main roads with free street entertainment of folk dancing, music and theatre.
ÌýThe celebrations continued
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| Ìý |  | Surely he didn't run the marathon dressed up?
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Sunday continued with a special Shakespeare Service in Holy Trinity Church, followed by the Shakespeare Marathon and half marathon.
We were there to see the runners and the crowds, follow this link to the Shakespeare Marathon 2004 page to see pictures from these celebrations.
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