POOLE Maritime Festival starts in just FOUR days - and tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to the historic port town for the week-long celebrations.

Months of planning have gone into the festival, which Borough of Poole (BOP) decided to organise after winning the rights to host the European Union's prestigious European Maritime Day (EMD) initiative.

This EMD two-day conference, which will bring together around 1,000 maritime experts at the Lighthouse Theatre, has now become just one aspect of the wider festival.

Poole Maritime Festival, starting on Monday, also includes the Poole Harbour Boat Show; the Seven Seas Festival at Baiter Park; the Taste of the South Food Festival at Poole Park, and a number of other performances and exhibitions.

Earlier this week BOP held a private ceremony where 15 winning Poole Maritime Festival flags, which have been designed by Poole youngsters and will flown at key sites throughout the celebrations, were unveiled.

Poole Mayor Cllr Xena Dion said: "This was a fantastic opportunity for our young people to show off their artistic streak and they certainly rose to the challenge.

"All the judges were blown away by the imaginative designs and it was really a tough decision to decide on the 15 winning flags. All the participants should be proud of their achievements and I can’t wait to see the winning flags on proud display in Poole."

Aside from a packed programme of family events, the festival week also includes businesses networking opportunities - conceived to support local maritime firms.

What's on when

THE European Maritime Day conferences, taking place at the Lighthouse Theatre, Poole, on May 18 & 19 bring together hundreds of maritime experts for what is one of the largest events of its kind in Europe.

THE free Poole Harbour Boat Show, organised by Poole Harbour Commissioners, will run from May 19 until May 21 at Poole Quay. There will be a number of stalls, live music and demonstrations taking place throughout the weekend. The nearest parking is at the Quay Visitors multi-storey car park, Old Orchard, Poole.

POOLE'S Seven Seas Festival, celebrating world music, food and culture, takes place at Baiter Park from May 19-21. This festival also includes rides on the Big Wheel.Parking is available at Harbourside One Car Park.

LIVE performances of the interactive show, Cargo, are scheduled for May 18 and 20 on Poole Quay.

A THEATRE dining extravaganza based at The Kitchen, Poole Park, where guests can enjoy a three-course meal indoors, or an alfresco hamper, before watching a maritime history of Poole through the eyes of interplanetary visitors, is scheduled for May 17-21. Parking is available in Poole Park or at the nearby Swimming Poole surface car park

POOLE Park will also be hosting the three-day Taste of the South Festival, from May 19-21

Visit poolemaritimefestival.uk for further details of all these events.