A corner of London will be transformed into the 'Big Easy' next weekend, with a free festival celebrating the best of New Orleans.

The two day event, which kicks off next Friday, takes place in the O2 arena — the venue formerly known as the Millennium Dome.

The event features the cream of New Orleans' and Louisiana's musical talent — with the likes of Dr John, Kermit Ruffins, BeauSoleil, Buckwheat Zydeco, John Mooney, Marcia Ball and Rebirth Brass Band among more than 20 bands and artists dropping in for the undercover event.

Revellers will be able to wander through a recreation of New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street, sipping Southern Comfort and other US tipples, munch on a host of Cajun delights — and learn how to prepare them.

Bringing a taste of the city's carnival spirit to the 50,000-capacity venue. will be the spectacular Mardis Gras Indians.

The extravaganza, called appropriately Festival New Orleans, is designed to celebrate New Orleans Music and Culture.

It also coincides with the New Orleans Saints' official NFL game against the San Diego Chargers at Wembley.

A city steeped in history, New Orleans is famed around the world for the wealth and diversity of its cultural heritage.

"The Big Easy has a deserved reputation as a party town, where the residents and visitors know how to have a good time and let their hair down," said a festival spokesman. "It is this spirit of energetic exuberance that The O2 will welcome, as the capital prepares to fully embrace the character of Louisiana's greatest city.

"The O2 is ideally suited to host this extraordinary celebration of New Orleans culture — the first festival ever to be held at the venue.

"Using all the venues and the full extent of the facilities on offer, The O2 will present music, performance arts, dancing, traditional New Orleans style cuisine and more, across three stages and one performance area.

"The venue itself incorporates a 20,000 seat arena, the 2,350 capacity indigO2 venue, the brand new Matter music venue, an eleven screen Vue cinema, twenty bars and restaurants, and much more.

Welcoming the event, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Mitch Landrieu said: "We learned from our research that potential visitors to Louisiana, especially our international friends, wanted more information about what there is to see and do in the state.

"They especially want to know what Louisiana locals do for fun.

"We listened and we are bringing Louisiana's unique culture to London with the largest showcase of Louisiana sports, food, music and arts ever seen outside of the borders of the United States."

Quint Davis, CEO of Festival Productions, Inc.- New Orleans agreed, adding: "This is the largest gathering of Louisiana artists ever assembled for a festival outside of the United States. For about two years Festival Productions and AEG Live have considered producing a major international event showcasing Louisiana culture. With the scheduling of the Saints football game on October 26 by the NFL and the availability of AEG's state-of-the-art facility, we simply couldn't pass up this perfect opportunity to launch Festival New Orleans."

Stuart Galbraith, of Kilimanjaro Live, said: "New Orleans culture is some of the most famous and festive in the world. We are greatly looking forward to offering a complete New Orleans experience to London, and The O2 is the perfect place to present it."

Although the event is free, organisers are offering VIP tickets, with options including hotel and travel packages, travel on a clipper boat direct to The O2, access to VIP area, and Festival New Orleans Goody bags.

see www.TheO2.co.uk for full details and set times.