A MAJOR outdoor production will be held to celebrate the build-up to the 2012 Olympics.

The Inside Out arts festival organisers are hoping to create a spectacular show of drama, sound effects and fireworks for a crowd overlooking Weymouth Bay by Bowleaze Cove.

The Veles e Vents show, which translates as Wind And Sails, will chart the story of a dangerous sea journey during two free shows in September.

Co-programme director Simon Chatterton said he is delighted to be presenting the one-off signature event.

He said: "Veles e Vents will be a spectacular performance on an enormous scale and very much in keeping with our aim of presenting extraordinary events in extraordinary Dorset locations.

"We think it will be an unmissable event for audiences throughout the county and beyond."

Inside Out is a project by Dorset Theatre promotors and is managed by Activate, their dance agency.

They are planning the performance at Bowleaze to help launch the cultural Olympiad in front of the setting for the 2012 sailing events.

Spokesman Alison Byard said it will be inspired by both the beauty and the force of the sea and will be an outdoor spectacle of large-scale proportions.

The show has been created by Spanish artists Xarxa Teatre, who have been performing open-air theatre for 25 years worldwide.

South West England's Director for 2012, Guy Lavender, said: "Exciting, high-profile events such as Inside Out that bring culture to everyone are a core part of our vision.

"The cultural Olympiad will run throughout the four-year build-up to the games and will be a celebration of our diverse heritage, landscape, food, fashion, creative and sporting excellence."

Inside Out is hoping the event will build on its 2007 shows which recorded combined audiences of more than 30,000 spectators.

The event will be free on September 26 and 27.