Taste of Freedom as acts announced for annual event

The dynamic pair - described as “more concept than a band” - who weave samples from old public information films and archive footage while playing drums, guitar, banjo and electronics will appear on the Saturday night of the three-day event.

The festival starts on the Friday with the now familiar lantern-lit procession, with around 100 locals taking part, to a new location, the Scale Lane Swing Bridge, for a mass choral performance.

Now in its eighth year, the festival, which will have more than 200 acts and promises an eclectic mix of art, dance, music and theatre, is held around the Marina and in the city’s Old Town .

A factor in the city winning City of Culture status in 2017, it is growing steadily, attracting more than 115,000 people last year.

The city’s Holy Trinity Church will host a performance of Tubular Bells for Two, a reworking of Mike Oldfield’s 20-instrument masterpiece, while sound artist Scanner has composed a new piece of music for the festival, Air Time.

Executive director Jenny Coombes said people had become emotionally attached to the large-scale processions, which have regularly featured.

She said: “The big challenge for us is to trying to recreate those experiences - but in a slightly different way.”