SOUTHAMPTON docks are to be the venue for a £30,000 public party celebrating the naming of the city's latest superliner Arcadia, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The event is inspired by the huge success of the naming ceremony of Queen Mary 2 last year, which saw 2,000 VIPs on the dockside but up to five times as many crammed into Mayflower Park to watch the ticket-only spectacular on a big screen.

City bosses hope the scenes will be repeated on Tuesday, April 12, when Britain's Olympic double gold medal-winning heroine Dame Kelly Holmes pushes the button to smash a bottle of champagne against the £200m ship's hull.

The traditional centrepiece of a ship-naming ceremony will be surrounded with more up-to- date elements. P&O bosses promise "grand-scale theatre and dramatic surprise, as well as stunning pyrotechnic displays".

The whole night will be topped off with the biggest fireworks display Southampton has seen since the extravaganza in the sky above the docks at the Queen Mary 2 naming ceremony.

The council has contributed about £10,000 and cruise giant P&O £20,000 to set up the big screen in Mayflower Park and pay for security.

At 83,000 tons and carrying 1,119 passengers, Arcadia is the largest superliner built exclusively for the British market. Queen Mary 2, at 151,400 tons, is considerably bigger but is a cruise liner. Each major cruise ship or liner based in the city is reckoned to contribute around £40m to the region's economy.

Leader of Southampton City Council Adrian Vinson hailed Arcadia's arrival as "yet another feather in the city's cap".

He said: "I hope that many of our citizens will enjoy a spectacular event in Mayflower Park to celebrate this new launch. This will be an excellent setting with the new luxury liner moored immediately behind.

"The launch of Arcadia is a fitting way of celebrating the continuing success of the port of Southampton."

Head of Brand Marketing for P&O Cruises Philip Price said: "We are delighted that Southampton residents will have the opportunity to join in with the naming celebrations for Arcadia.

"We are pleased that working together, P&O Cruises and Southampton City Council will provide a most memorable occasion for the city."

For more Southampton shipping news and information, including Queen Mary 2 and Titanic, click the 'Shipping' link at the top of this page.