Two major Oxfordshire employers have agreed to help bankroll events to celebrate 1,000 years of Oxfordshire.

German company BMW, which makes the Mini at its factory in Cowley, is to sponsor Luminox, a giant "flame" installation along Broad Street, Oxford, from March 15-17.

Accompanied by music, the "large-scale art installation in fire, metal and wood" will be created by artists Carabosse. Inside will be a five metre spire containing a giant pendulum sculpted by Oxford artist Ted Dewan.

The car maker will also sponsor the Street Olympix on May 12 and a festival concert on May 13, plus The Big Picnic, where people from different communities join to share food.

Botley law firm Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons is also supporting the concert in Oxford's South Park, involving up to 800 performers - an assembly which could well end up in the Guinness Book of Records for the number of musicians performing on an outdoor stage in a single concert.

The première of a work called Circus Songs, written for the occasion by Oxford composer John Madden, will be performed by up to 200 schoolchildren.

Oxford Inspires has received £200,000 funding from Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council and another £200,000 from public funders such as Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Awards for All and others.

It has raised more than £200,000 in private sponsorship, mostly from businesses, including Oxford Bus Company, Update Software, First Great Western.

Alexandra Brooks, of BMW, said: "We feel it important to be involved. We believe Plant Oxford's partnership with Oxfordshire 2007 will help to make the 'Home of Mini' a more vibrant and diverse community to live, work and play in."

Jonathan Lloyd Jones, senior partner at Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons, said: "As an Oxford firm of 100 years' standing we are delighted to be associated with the festival concert and Oxfordshire 2007."

Kathelene Weiss, Oxford Inspires development director, said: "We would be delighted to hear from any other businesses who want to join in.

"We have a very close relationship with BMW and we have collaborated with them to make sure that the events work well for them."

She added: "Partnerships like these between businesses and cultural organisations are vital to the county's cultural life."