BRIGHTON Festival has been hailed as "one of a kind" as the annual arts extravaganza came to a close yesterday evening.

Dance music trailblazer Sam Shepherd closed out the festival last night with his performance of Floating Points at the Brighton Dome.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Brighton Festival which saw more than 150 productions of music, stage and experimental art throughout the month of May.

It was helmed by guest director American performance artist Laurie Anderson.

As the festival came to close, she hailed the event for its inclusivity and its uniqueness among the arts landscape.

She said: "I have been at the Brighton Festival a few times now and it’s always been fun. I always feel like I’m part of the town and that’s a crazy feeling because at many festivals maybe only theatre people come - but here everybody comes. I was really struck by that."

She added: "I think Brighton is really a one-of-a-kind festival.

"First of all because it’s very sophisticated in terms of what experimental art it brings in but it’s very inclusive in other ways.

"I can’t really think of another festival that has that broad a base so I would have to say it’s unique.”

This year's festival has so far seen eight Argus Angels awarded and scores of five star shows - with more sure to come in from the weekend productions.

Other highlights included the stunning light show of Dr Blighty, the charming transformation of Roedale Allotments in Digging for Shakespeare, the over 50s dance company Three Score Dance's performance at the West Pier, and the intergenerational encounter between students from Longhill High School and men and women in their 70s and 80s for Giddy Brighton.

Andrew Comben, chief executive of the Brighton Festival, said: "In helping us put together this year’s festival, themed around home and place, Laurie wanted us to help everyone tell their stories and to focus on some of the people whose stories are less often heard.

"If the 50th Brighton Festival and our guest director Laurie Anderson teaches us anything it’s that all of us have stories to tell and that being curious about and interested in each other is the first step to a thriving community

"That we’ve seen such wonderful examples of that here during Brighton Festival is something I am very, very proud of."

See our highlights from the festival on pages 14 and 15.