Celebrations for the Millennium will be launched officially tonight, writes Matt Childe.

A special company, Oxfordshire 2000, has been set up to co-ordinate Millennium festivities in the county - backed by a £150,000 grant from the Millennium Commission.

Tonight's launch, at The Zodiac nightclub, in Cowley Road, Oxford, aims to encourage 2,000 people and organisations to take part in organising events.

One of the main tasks is to set up an outdoor spectacular for up to 50,000 people next summer. Preparations are already under way, with the most likely venue South Park, in Oxford. Project manager Rosemary Richards said: "The new Millennium is providing a wonderful opportunity to focus creative talent in many types of projects across the county."

Among tonight's speakers will be Oxford Mail editor Chris Cowley, who will launch the Oxfordshire 2000 website.

The site, produced by the new media team at Newsquest (Oxfordshire), publishers of the Oxford Mail, will provide a complete run-down of events and activities in the run-up to the New Year. The Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Hugo Brunner, will speak on the importance of the Millennium in Oxfordshire and a video will explore what the year 2000 means to people in Oxford.

The choir of St Mary and St John First School, Oxford band Black Candy and Tanzanian dancer Tunanun Lambo will perform during the evening.

The £150,000 Millennium grant will cover about half the cost of staging the event. For details call 01865 450343.

Story date: Monday 17 May

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.