Plymouth Summer Festival today (April 14) unveils a packed and exciting programme of local, national and international events which make Plymouth the place to visit this summer.
Headlined by superstar rock n' roller Rod Stewart at Home Park, the Festival (www.plymouthsummerfestival.com) brings together under one banner the vast range of maritime, music, arts and street events taking place in Plymouth between May and September.
David Draffan, managing director of Plymouth City Centre Company said: "Plymouth's programme of events this summer is again quite simply one of the best in the country and the Plymouth Summer Festival brings this neatly together so we can effectively market the city regionally, nationally and beyond.
"The aim is to make Plymouth a must destination for people visiting the South West and we've certainly got something to offer the whole family right the way through the summer, come rain or shine."
The new Festival Brochure is launched today and in a significant increase in its marketing activities for 2009, as well as 30,000 brochure copies, Plymouth Summer Festival is also printing 600,000 leaflets to be circulated in tourist destinations and within tourist information racks in venues across Devon and Cornwall.
Vivien Pengelly, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: "We're incredibly proud of our city and the Plymouth Summer Festival gives us a great opportunity to shout about what we have to offer. We look forward to welcoming as many people as possible to Plymouth and its fantastic range of events over the summer."
Top of the bill for this year's Plymouth Summer Festival is Rod Stewart who will rock Plymouth Argyle's Home Park on Thursday July 2.
The four month programme kicks off on Friday, May 1, with the Barbican International Jazz and Blues Festival, which returns after a hugely successful inaugural event at last year's Festival.
It is the perfect curtain-raiser to one of the best summer programmes in the UK, with 25 major events, many of national significance, and more than 100 fringe activities.
Highlights this year will include the Navy Days (September 5 and 6) when Devonport Naval Base will throw open its gates to an estimated 30,000 visitors, the British Fireworks Championships (August 11-12), the Sutton Harbour Festival (July 25 - August 4) and city centre favourites like Britain's biggest farmers market Plymouth Flavour Fest (August 14-16) and the Plymouth Half Marathon (May 24).
There's a packed programme at the Plymouth Theatre Royal and the Plymouth Pavilions including Quadrophenia, the hit musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and comedian Jimmy Carr.
More events will be announced over the coming months as acts are confirmed with details appearing on www.plymouthsummerfestival.com.
This year the Summer Festival programme also includes great scheduling on the BBC Big Screen in Armada Way. Programmes to be screened live include the Eurovision Song Contest on 16 May, British Grand Prix on 21 June, Wimbledon from 22 June - 5 July, Glastonbury from 24-18 June and Last Night of the Proms on 12 September to name just a few.
Plymouth is also one of just 20 UK cites to team up with the Royal Opera House, in Covent Garden, and the BP Summer Big Screens season to off the chance to enjoy the unique atmosphere of open air live screenings in the Piazza, live from the Royal Opera House, of The Royal Ballet's production of Ondine (Wednesday June 3) and fantastic new productions of two classic operas performed by The Royal Opera - La traviata (Tuesday June 30) and The Barber of Seville (Wednesday July 15).
