Street spectacular to draw on expertise of French performers

French street theatre artists Plasticiens Volants will unleash a series of giant inflatable monsters in the city during the two-day festival, beginning on Friday, September 10.

Monster Madness will feature large-scale colourful creatures inflated with helium, including a serpent, fish and walking characters, which will be transported through the streets among smoke and flares.

For the show's finale in Queens Gardens – which will be renamed Freedom Gardens for the event – giant puppets operated from the ground will fly above the crowds accompanied by a light and sound show.

The group have a tough act to follow, after last year's light and fire show on the waterfront by French street artists Carabosse drew widespread acclaim.

The two-day extravaganza 2009 – which coincided with the launch of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race – also drew a record number of weekend visitors to Hull, with 150,000 attending the events.

It was the most successful weekend of tourism in Hull's history and netted 9.3m for the region's economy.

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University calculated that visitors spent an average of 41.96 per person each day.

The research found people had travelled from Australia, Germany, Iraq and Iran.

Almost every room at city hotels was taken, and businesses in the service industry reported a three-fold increase in trade.

There are high hopes for next month's festival, which combines live music, arts and dance.

Coun John Robinson, portfolio holder for image and culture at Hull Council, said: "This awe-inspiring parade and performance will be the jewel in this year's Freedom crown, bringing another new dramatic cultural experience to Hull for residents and visitors to share.

"It is fantastic that the festival is continuing to attract sucha high calibre of performance artistes and we hope it will help to pullin Freedom fans old and new tothe event on 10 and 11 September."

Monster Madness has been created specifically for the Hull festival and will be added to the company's five standard shows they tour around the world – Babilonia, Don Quichotte, Moon Fisher, Pearl and Expeditory Deviations.

Members of Plasticiens Volants have visited the city to map the route and were full of praise for the Larkin With Toads installation, a series of large fibreglass toads placed at strategic locations around Hull last month as part of a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of poet Philip Larkin.

Although the launch of the yacht race was credited with attracting many of the visitors in 2009, tourism chiefs remain confident the festival will provide a much needed boost to the economy.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "Freedom is a welcome addition to Yorkshire's lively festivals' calendar. This year's event is certain to further enrich Hull's tourism offer, bring visitors into the city and help to boost the local visitor economy."

Janet Reuben, his counterpart at Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, added: "Freedom aims to bring a real wow-factor to the city and this thought-provoking performance promises to deliver just that. Monster Madness will be an incredible and exhilarating experience for all to enjoy."

The musicians and artists taking part in the festival are expected to be announced by the end of the month.