A TWO-day festival with interactive light projections, performers covered in ultra-violet paint and a night flight past the quayside have been revealed to kick-start a year of celebrations.

The Illuminate Festival in Harwich this November will be the official start of celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower Ship sailing the pilgrim fathers to America.

The festival is held in the town every year with a parade, but this autumn is expected to be “amazing” as it links with similar events internationally for the milestone occasion.

Speaking at the latest Harwich Tourism Group meeting, Mike Carran, Tendring Council’s head of sport and leisure, said: “We wanted to do something particularly special that people would travel to.

“Hopefully it will create a sense of local pride and wake people up to what will happen for Mayflower 400.

“We have been working with a company called Motion Mapping to put a projection on Quayside Court, we can also project on The Pier and Kings Head Street.

“We are looking at a tunnel of light in the road that will be an interactive experience - it will look amazing.”

There will also be a series of entertainment for the festival of light across November 29 and 30.

Mr Carran added: “There will also be a sound cloud, which will be an interactive experience, which will react to your movements.

“It will be quite special and hopefully people will stay for around three or four hours.

“We are going to do a night flight on the Saturday - the planes trail pyro and perform to music. It’s quite unique and special.

“It will look fantastic and be a proper two night festival.”

The event is hoped to attract about 7,000 to 8,000 people.

Chairman of the tourism group, Paul Milsom of Milsom Hotels, said it was important for businesses in the town to open for the event.

Harwich councillor Ivan Henderson said: “I think we need to prepare people for this.

“The businesses need to know the impact and to be open.

“We have never ever seen anything like this in Harwich.”

The festival is set to be followed by a year of themed events and attractions.

For more details visit historicharwich.co.uk.