SOME of Britain's top jazz acts will kick off this year's four-month Plymouth Summer Festival.

The nine-day Barbican Jazz and Blues Festival opens on May 1 with Empirical, the award-winning Young Turks of British jazz, performing at the Barbican Theatre.

The Summer Festival, now in its fourth year, brings together under one banner the range of maritime, music, arts and street events taking place in Plymouth.

The British Fireworks Championships return to Plymouth on August 10 and 11, top shows at the Theatre Royal include Oklahoma, Hairspray, and The Sound of Music, while Plymouth Pavilions hosts music from Scouting for Girls, Pendulum and Crowded House as well as comedy from Jimmy Carr.

Other highlights include the Sutton Harbour Festival (July 24 to August 3) and city-centre favourites such as Britain's biggest free farmers' market, Plymouth Flavour Fest (August 13-15) and the Plymouth Half Marathon (May 30).

More events will be announced over the coming months on www.plymouthsummerfestival.com

The Jazz and Blues Festival (www.barbicanjazzandbluesfestival. com) brings together more than 100 gigs at more than 20 venues, featuring local musicians alongside national and international acts, sometimes in unusual venues such as the Elizabethan House and the Merchant's House.

The big screen in Armada Way will carry live events including Wimbledon (June 21-July 4), Glastonbury (June 23-27), the British Grand Prix (July 11) and the Last Night of the Proms (September 11).

Cllr Ted Fry, the city's Cabinet member for planning, regeneration and economic growth, said: "The Summer Festival adds real value to the city, playing a key role in encouraging visitors and maximising the benefit to the city's economy of the huge range of summer activities and events here.

Gavin Carrier, chief executive of Plymouth City Development Company, said: "The PCDC is pleased to have been instrumental in sponsoring the development of the Festival and delighted that it's now maturing into an important, self-sustaining programme of world-class events."