THOUSANDS of people attended the city centre Fan Zone over the weekend.

More than 3,300 golf fans, families and the curious came to see what attractions were on offer in the city centre on Friday and Saturday.

Plenty of weird and wacky activities were on offer for children and grown-up children to enjoy, while TV stars Sportacus and Stephanie from Icelandic kids-TV hit Lazytown attracted a thronging crowd of tiny tot superfans.

Newport City Centre manager Susannah Stonehouse said 1200 people attended the free event by lunchtime Saturday.

In a demonstration of how the appalling weather kept people indoors, even when children were away from school, the Fan Zone saw just 800 through on Friday.

“All of the undercover areas have been busy,” she said. “If you speak to anyone there it was more than we were expecting.”

People came from all over Gwent to enjoy the city centre’s double-sided screen, showing ball-by-ball coverage of a, thankfully uninterrupted, day’s golf.

Nicola Jenkins, 42, from Blackwood, watched as her son Kameron, 6, enjoyed a spot of crazy golf.

“It’s good that Newport’s put this on,” she said. “It’s brought a lot of people out. They should do this sort of thing more often.”

Accountant Julian Baker, 42, from Risca Road, Newport, could also be spotted acting as caddy for his son Tomos Baker, 5, on the Fan Zone crazy golf putting green.

He said: “It’s really different, different to what you usually get in Newport. The activities are really very good.”

As well as to watch the golf Huma Ashraf, 41, from Allt-yr-yn, Newport, came for lunch at the zone’s eclectic food stalls with husband Simon Morrish, 40, and chldren Aaliyah Morrish, 3, and Daamyal Morrish, 7.

“We wanted to get tickets for the Ryder Cup but couldn’t - we just wanted to feel a part of the Ryder Cup,” she said, adding: “The kids love Sportacus.”