A SPECTACULAR outdoor festival is set to be held in Basingstoke this summer.

The 17-day Basingstoke Festival, which begins on July 26, will feature music, dance, theatre, fireworks and lots more besides.

Organised by Basingstoke council and Festival Place, the programme will incorporate popular events such as Balloons Over Basingstoke and Jammin' in the Park.

Among the new events is "Extreme" - aimed particularly at young people. This will be held in the War Memorial Park on July 27, and attractions will include musical performances, skateboard and BMX demonstrations and stomach-churning rides.

World music will ring out across Eastrop Park on July 28, with performances from top South African and Rwandan acts at an event called World Party. The highlight of the evening will be a firework display specially commissioned by a pyrotechnics expert. A £15,000 grant from the National Lottery will also enable the council to commission an artist to create a special performance for Basingstoke featuring music and dance.

Besides these large town centre gatherings, a programme of more than 30 other events will include Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, performed at the walled garden in Down Grange. The garden will also host a series of concerts featuring top artists from jazz, blues and classical music.

The finale of the festival will be an evening of Rogers and Hammerstein in the War Memorial Park on August 11, featuring tunes from The Sound of Music, South Pacific and Oklahoma.

Councillor John Shaw, the council Cabinet member for recreation and culture, said: "This is great news for Basingstoke. A fantastic summer is ahead of us and I'm really looking forward to being able to reveal more details about the programme very soon."