New Year's Eve in Southampton will be a spectacular event for all the family as everyone is invited to take to the streets of the old town for a day-long festival.

Based on the port's status as the "gateway to the world", the theme of the festival is a celebration of historic journeys which have started from the city's waterfront, including the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers for the new world, Henry V sailing to Agincourt and the allied forces who used Southampton as a key embarkation point for the D-Day landings.

This Sunday, there will be exhibitions, living history events and all kinds of entertainment. A historic street market will be held on Western Esplanade and music and dance events will centre on St Michael's Square and Tudor Merchant's Hall. Ancient herbal remedies made from the plants form the garden at Tudor House will also be available.

The day will build to a torchlit procession starting from the Bargate at 11pm, culminating in a son et lumiere projected against the old town walls and the De Vere hotel's glass atrium.

There will also be the lighting of the Millennium Beacon, which was received by the Mayor of Southampton earlier this month.

Workshops took place in the run-up to the event and many residents have been busy joining artists in making large lanterns depicting the historic journeys. Everybody is encouraged to dress up in historic costume to add to the fun.