More than 10,000 people attended a Songkran Festival celebration in Kowloon City on Sunday, doubling the turnout from the last time the event was held, in 2019.

The famous water-splashing festival was staged in a neighbourhood known to Hongkongers as “Little Thailand,” ahead of the Thai New Year later this week.

Calvin Tse, the event organiser, said the increased attendance means that Songkran is becoming an international celebration.

“You can see from the faces of the people, they are all smiling, and they all feel happy about that because we have been waiting for such a great event for over three years," he said. "You can see, they can enjoy massages, they can order food, and enjoy drinks, dancing and different kinds of performances today.”

He added: “They want to enjoy the atmosphere. They want to learn more about the Thai culture.”

Many regular festival-goers were happy for Songkran's return. Derek Wong told RTHK he was attending for the second time.

“I’ve been watching for a few years because of the Covid," he said. "They stopped hosting this but it is so fun because I have some Thai friends here and I just love the Thai culture. I love Thai food. I love water!”

He added: “I can’t really fly out to Bangkok for the Songkran so every year I am looking forward to enjoying the festival.”

Some people even attended the event from overseas, taking the chance to experience a Hong Kong event without pandemic restrictions.

Hilary Ip said she was visiting her family from London when she heard about the event.

“We saw on the news and my family actually lives in Hong Kong so they had tickets and here we are,” she said. “We love the water fights, and also wanted to see the Muay Thai.”

Tse said that participating Thai organisations and vendors hoped the event would help lift Hong Kong’s economy and encourage more tourists to return. He added that he didn't think redevelopment plans in Kowloon City would have any impact on the event being held in the neighbourhood in years to come.

He said: “I think we will still host it here in Kowloon City because the renovation so far as I understand is part by part, and bit by bit."