ORGANISERS of the annual oration at Karl Marx’s grave hailed it as “fantastically successful event” yesterday as crowds marked the 200th year of his birth.

Cuban ambassador Teresita Vicente Sotolongo delivered the oration, joining a list of famous names including late Labour MP Tony Benn and Venezuelan ambassador Rocio Maneiro.

Communist Party of Britain general secretary Rob Griffiths told the Star the event attracted “probably the biggest turnout in recent years.”

Mr Griffiths said delegations from the Cuban and Chinese embassies had laid wreaths at the site of Mr Marx’s grave, as had representatives of “communist and workers’ parties from around the world.”

Marx Memorial Library manager Meirian Jump said: “This was a fantastically successful event, very well attended despite the snow, highlighting the continuing relevance and interest in Marx’s ideas 200 years after his birth.”