A FIREWORK extravaganza will light the skies over Saint Hill Manor at an annual gala concert.

For the first time the concert, which kick-starts the Saint Hill International Arts Festival, will close with the display.

The event, on Sunday August 2, will feature concert pianist Gabriel Arnold and Hollywood actress and singer Judy Norton, as well as musicians from the East Grinstead area including Marion Shuster and Martin and Anne-Marie Sonneveld.

The week-long festival will follow and includes different forms of art such as painting, drama, singing, dancing, film-making, photography, fashion design and sculpture.

Festival executive producer Sheila Gaiman said: "The Saint Hill International Arts Festival provides artists and potential artists with the ideal environment in which to blossom, where art is taught by people with the correct technology, without invalidation, and where one is free to perform and be appreciated."

The week will include hands-on workshops where performances are prepared and given every evening.