ALTON’S Public Gardens will play host next Saturday (July 8) to the Last Night of the Proms – an open-air concert which this year will be based on ‘A Night at the Movies’.

Starting at 7.30pm, the programme will feature film theme tunes from modern-day movies such as James Bond, Superman Returns and Titanic, alongside cinema classics such as My Fair Lady and Fiddler on the Roof.

Organised by Alton Town Council, in partnership with Alton Concert Orchestra, the concert will feature four soloists – Jane Gray, Rebekah Abbott, Patricia Casement and Sam Kirk – as well as the Alton Choral Society, conducted by Wendy Busby, who will be performing Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof.

In encouraging music lovers to head down to the park to enjoy the evening’s entertainment, Alton Concert Orchestra chairman Chris Leggett said: “Our conductor, David Budd, has long wanted to include movie themes in the programme and it is fitting that in his last concert as our regular conductor he has had his wish. Please give David a big send off as he hands the baton over to Chris Gardner, who is well-known to our Last Night of the Proms audience as composer as well as conductor.”

The evening will conclude with traditional favourites Rule Britannia, the National Anthem and Auld Lang Syne to encourage the crowd to sing along and wave their flags.

The organisers have expressed grateful thanks to the event’s headline sponsor, Specsavers opticians Alton, for their “generous donation” toward staging the event. And to other local businesses such as Travelbag, The Chocolate Frog Company and Alton College for becoming Proms Patrons.

Mr Leggett said: “Without the generosity of our supporters and the visitors who make donations on the evening we would not be able to continue to offer this wonderful concert year on year without an admission charge.”

Event programmes featuring biographies of lead performers will be available on the night together with Union flags in exchange for a small donation.

The gates to the Public Gardens will be open from 6pm when concertgoers are invited to bring ”family and friends, picnic blankets, hampers and deck chairs to enjoy a spectacular evening of open-air musical entertainment”.

* In the interests of health and safety, the Public Gardens will be closed from approximately 6am until 6pm next Saturday (July 8) for setting up and rehearsal. The gates will be locked after the concert ends until approximately 9am on Sunday (July 9) for clearing away. Alton Town Council apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.