A BIG cultural celebration is being lined up for the Day of Portugal at the Bridgwater Arts Centre.

Bridgwater has the largest contingent of Portuguese people in Somerset and this will be the third time the town has organised an event to celebrate the occasion.

A number of Portuguese artists will take to the stage to perform on Saturday, June 10 and there will also be a clown to entertain the children, as well karaoke in between artists allowing the audience to participate.

A mouth-watering barbecue of Portuguese sardines and meats will be available at the garden as well as Portuguese home-made sangria and beers at the bar.

The next Bridgwater mayor will be presented to the community on stage. Cllr Diogo Rodrigues will be the first Portuguese mayor in the history of the UK.

The mayor will be introduced by the Bridgwater Town Council leader, Cllr Brian Smedley, with simultaneous translation to/from Portuguese of a professional interpreter.

The Portuguese prime-minister is invited to attend this celebration but is presence is still pending confirmation.

In 2016, the Day of Portugal in Bridgwater was the only celebration in the whole of the UK and that looks set to be the case again this year.

Marcos Santos from the organisers, volunteer collective Tuga Productions, said: "We would like to invite everyone in Bridgwater and Somerset areas to join us at this celebration.

"We want to thank our sponsors because without them this would not be possible, a few years ago we wouldn’t believe that a legend of the Portuguese Popular Music would be performing in Bridgwater, and this is only possible thanks huge support from Bridgwater Town Council and Sedgemoor District Council," Mr Santos said.

Artists performing on the night include Fernando Correia Marques, Luka Emme, Swiss band Zezito will bring their brand of Latin music and a Bossa Nova band from Yeovil will also be playing.

The tickets are available at the Bridgwater Arts Centre ticket office or online at bridgwaterartscentre.cloudvenue.co.uk/portugalday.