THOUSANDS of people from around the world attended this year’s All in the Mind festival, organised by a man from Southampton.

More than 5000 people logged on to a bespoke streaming platform, which showed multiple live acts at the same time, allowing visitors to go from stage to stage in real time, just like they would at a live event.

All in the Mind, which usually takes place in Basingstoke, aims to shine a light on mental health and encourage performers and artists to explore mental health themes and break the stigma that still surrounds many aspects of mental health and personal wellbeing.

This year, it was held online, opening it up to more people around the world. People from America, South Africa, France and Spain, as well as the UK, joined the event and were treated to performances about topics such as isolation, mindfulness and depression.

Festival Director Leigh Johnstone, from Bursledon, said: “We are delighted with how the event went. This year has been like no other, and we were determined the festival be held, even if it wasn’t in person. It was great to see so many people enjoy these wonderful performances, by some really talented people.

“We are so proud to be able to bring this type of event to people around the world, which discusses such an important topic. We hope it was immersive experience for everyone. We would like to thank everyone who logged on, all the performers, the people who helped organise and run the event and our supporters. Our attention now turns to next year’s event.”

The festival is run by Fluid Motion Theatre Company, which Leigh set up in 2010 to deliver performances on a wide range of mental health themes as well as delivering education and community work.

The festival, with all 33 performances, can still be viewed online at aitmfestival.com