BOURNEMOUTH’S third Arts by the Sea Festival opens on Friday and runs until October 12. The Daily Echo backed event promises to be the biggest and best yet.

The festival is now an annual fixture which presents a rich mix of some of the best regional, national and international arts across dance, film, theatre, performance, visual arts, spoken word, literature and music.

Three weeks of more than 50 highly original and exciting arts activities are in store, spanning music, dance, film, visual arts, performance and spoken word, in all kinds of spaces across the town.

The opening weekend sees an exciting free outdoor celebration for all the family.

Joe Rush’s Mutoid Waste, who created the futuristic Mad Max style vehicles for the London Paralympic Closing Ceremony last year, will create a huge stir with their giant articulated machines and sculptures parading the beach.

In addition, lots of events, including light installations, film screenings, live music and dance, street performance and a vintage market, will take place in the town centre, lower gardens and seafront.

Over the following three weeks residents and visitors alike will be able to experience a host of special events and performances; from razor-sharp poetry brought by legendary punk poet John Cooper Clarke to an incredible sound performance in complete darkness from the creators of the Electric Hotel; from the Mark Bruce Company’s dance interpretation of Dracula to a candlelit concert of work by Paganini set in the historic ruins of Shelley Theatre.

This year there’s a distinct cinema and live score element to the festival.

Look out for special showings of Alfred Hitchcock’s early films restored by the British Film Institute, accompanied by live music from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Also at the festival will be the only vintage mobile cinema left in the country, with its unique slice of cinema history.

And don’t miss your chance of a behind-the-scenes look at some of the world’s most spectacular film and animation visual effects.

A festival spokesman said: “We’re very excited to present this year’s programme of rich and varied events for the Arts by the Sea Festival.

“We have built on the success of the past two festivals.”