A giant mechanical puppet of a lost little girl will lead a spectacular street theatre event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy.
Huge mechanical puppets will walk around Liverpool City Centre "for the most magical piece of theatre ever seen in the North of England" from 20-22 April 2012.
The £2m three-day event will be the largest of its kind in the country next year before the London Olympic Games begin on 27th July.
Sea Odyssey tells the story of a girl who wakes up in Stanley Park, between Anfield and Goodison, and starts to search for her long-lost uncle who is looking for her on the other side of the city.
Eventually reunited in a extravagant climax, the girl and her uncle sail away on a boat from the Pier Head.
The spectacular has been produced by French expert puppeteers and street theatre experts Royal De Luxe.
The puppet of the girl has already made her debut on the streets of London, where she was watched by 1.5m people during the Sultan's Elephant event.
Artistic Director Jean-Luc Courcoult was inspired by a letter he saw in Liverpool's Maritime Museum written by a young girl whose father was aboard the Titanic.
The "unsinkable ship" hit an iceberg on 15th April 1912 and 1,513 men, women and children perished in the Atlantic. Of the 114 crew members from Liverpool 87 of them died and just 705 people survived.
Mr Courcoult said: "Liverpool, for me, stands out as an island in its own right, within a larger island.
"Passions for football, the revolutionary music and poetry of the Beatles, and the legendary story of the Titanic, give the city a strong, emblematic identity, and the people a compelling warmth which pulls me to them."
Liverpool City Council has been in talks with Mr Coulcoult since 2006 to bring what is now the Sea Odyssey spectacular to the city.
Leader Joe Anderson said: "This will be a magical piece of theatre, the likes of which many people will never have seen before.
"Titanic will always resonate with Liverpool, particularly as the name of the city was emblazoned on its stern and many of its crew were from the Merseyside area."
The Titanic commemoration will be the last street spectacular to use funding awarded for the European Capital of Culture 2008 accolade.
The first grand street theatre show after the Capital of Culture award was a 50ft mechanical spider called 'La Princesse'.
It stalked the streets in celebration and drew thousands of people in the week the La Machine creation was here.
Colette Robinson, Liverpool around 4 months, 1 week ago