A large number of people, including several foreigners, participated in the International Kite Festival held here today.

Kite-fliers from 11 countries, including from Ukraine, Switzerland, Indonesia, Belgium, UK, Lebanon, Lithunia, Italy, South Korea and Turkistan, along with the locals filled the sky with kites of all shapes, sizes and colours, organisers said.

The event, which was a curtain raiser to the International Kite Festival to be held in Ahmedabad on Jan 10-14, was organised jointly by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation and Vadodara District Collectorate.

Olga Dekhaich, a primary school teacher from Khorson city from Ukraine, was excited after her first successful attempt at flying a kite.

“This feels so amazing. It is for the first time that I am flying such a huge kite. I am very much excited in taking part in this festival,” she told PTI.

Lithuanian kite-flier Gidre Aleksandraviclatem said: “I would love to see traditional kite flying in Indian villages, where the young and old alike engage in very competitive kite fights and try to outdo each other.”