Montreux, Switzerland - Thousands of Queen fans sang, cheered, and partied at the Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux on Saturday to celebrate what would have been the legendary British singer's 80th birthday.
Wearing outlandish outfits reflecting Mercury's stage costumes, fans gathered in honor of the frontman in the Swiss town where he sought peace in his final years and recorded his last vocals.
"It is a special birthday, so you've got to make the effort to come and celebrate all things Freddie," said Sonia, who traveled from Canberra, Australia.
Fans hailed from Australia to Japan to even the housing estate in Feltham, near London's Heathrow Airport, where Mercury's Parsi family moved to after fleeing the Zanzibar revolution in 1964.
The bronze statue of Mercury in a triumphant pose, erected in 1996 overlooking Lake Geneva, was decked with balloons, flowers, and tributes left by well-wishers.
Appreciation of Queen's legacy and Mercury's unique talent has only grown since his death in 1991 from bronchial pneumonia, brought on by AIDS.
Among the world's best-selling artists ever, most of the group's sales have come since the singer's passing at the age of 45.
Freddie Mercury fans "here to celebrate"
Queen owned Mountain Studios, built into the Montreux Casino, and recorded six albums there. Now a Queen exhibition space, visitors can try out the mixing desk.
James Perkin pushed up the faders on A Winter's Tale – the last song Mercury wrote, and a dying man's ode to the picturesque tranquillity of Montreux.
"Such a beautiful, life-affirming song at that point in his life," said Perkin, the guitarist in Don't Stop Queen Now, the tribute band closing the festivities on Sunday.
The Freddie Days birthday event has been running since 2003 and has grown over time. The free, five-day event's volunteer organizer Lucien Muller told AFP that 14,000 to 16,000 people were expected to attend.
"There's people who come every year. I won't say a community; I would say a family. We are all here to celebrate, to party, to have fun," he said. "We try to honor Freddie Mercury's legacy in a town that was very important for him."
The Oscar-winning 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody brought Mercury to a new generation of fans.
One 13-year-old girl, wearing the singer's iconic 1986 Magic Tour yellow jacket, was busily sketching a portrait of Mercury by the statue.
Julie Criddle, from Wiltshire in southwest England, was at the video shoot for We Are The Champions in 1977 and has been coming to the Freddie Days for 11 years.
"There's so many people here that aren't old enough to have seen Queen live, which is fantastic because it's keeping Freddie's name alive," she said.
Freddie Mercury's "spirit lives on"
Fans were dressed in a myriad of Mercury outfits, including his Invisible Man sunglasses, Flash Gordon t-shirts, 1982 Arrows jackets, and his 39th birthday Living on my Own black and white leggings.
Peter Straker, Mercury's friend and fellow singer, told AFP: "He's dead, but the spirit lives on, and the joy and celebration of a human life – it's fantastic."
The event also saw concerts and talks, including one on Mercury's trailblazing 1988 "Barcelona" duet album recorded with the Spanish opera diva Montserrat Caballe.
"He would have been amazed that people still come from all over the world in such large numbers to celebrate – he'd have loved it; he loved being idolized! – though he'd have hated being 80!" composer Mike Moran, who co-wrote the album with Mercury, told AFP.
The day culminated with Mercury's sister Kashmira Bulsara cutting the 80th birthday cake.
Fans sang Happy Birthday, and the party continued into the night.