SPECIAL events will be held in York Minster this weekend to raise money for its restoration fund.

Northern Lights will see the Nave transformed on Friday with a gala dinner for 700 guests - the biggest since the Diamond Jubilee Rose Dinner in 2012 - to raise funds for the Minster's glass preservation project.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Minster will be open after hours for two public events with a new sound and light projection designed by artists Ross Ashton and Karen Monid.

The exhibit has taken inspiration from the Minster's 128 stained glass and architecture, about 60 per cent of which has no protection from the elements, and which need to be protected with a 20-year project of improvements.

Work began on Monday, when about 1,400 chairs were removed from the Nave, and equipment for the sound and light projection will be installed this week, while catering marquees are also put up, and 70 tables are set for the dinner.

Neil Sanderson, director of the York Minster Fund, which organised the events, said: "We’re hugely excited to see the Nave being transformed for this weekend’s fundraising events. York Minster has a very special collection of stained glass. Its windows hold one of the world’s most important collections of medieval glass with the earliest pieces dating back to about 1160.

"Currently, over 70 of these irreplaceable windows have no protection from the elements, leaving them exposed to damage and decay. The funds raised from these events will directly support our work to provide protection to this glass, buying much needed time for conservation work, and we’re therefore hugely grateful to all our sponsors and to everyone who plans to visit and support us over the weekend."

Sponsors for the event include Langleys Solicitors, Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School and UBS, and a range of items have been donated for the fundraising dinner which include a specially-designed sapphire and diamond Yorkshire Rose necklace by Ogden Harrogate, champagne by Joseph Perrier, courtesy of Field and Fawcett, and fillet steak by Dovecote Park.

A stained-glass window created by the York Glaziers Trust for the 2016 Welcome to Yorkshire Chelsea Flower Show Garden has also been gifted as an auction prize.

Tickets for Saturday and Sunday's events cost £5 and are available at yorkminster.org, with match funding from the York Minster Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund meaning each ticket sold will contribute £20 to the conservation project.