York Minster is to throw open its doors at night, to give local residents and tourists a rare chance to see behind the scenes.

Staff at the church have organised a Minster Nights evening for January 9, following the success of such events in May and August.

The Minster will be open until midnight and visitors will be able to experience a wide range of activities and art projects. The focus for the event is on “relaxation, contemplation and reflection”.

A Minster spokeswoman said: “Visitors can experience the cathedral at night, as it comes alive with light and sound installations, sculptures and performances, all of which work within the cathedral’s space and the evening setting to challenge the visitor’s perception."

Artists Airvent Media will create a light and sound experience in the Chapter House, while Tony Murray will install figures around the Five Sisters window.

Kayla Kavanagh, an Irish singer and songwriter, will perform using numerous instruments including keyboard, guitar, electric violin, flute and the hammered dulcimer, and the Mooted Theatre Co, who have performed before at Minster Nights, will perform an excerpt from Chekhov’s The Evils of Tobacco.

There will also be a range of Hidden Minster tours, allowing visitors to experience areas of the cathedral not normally accessible to the public. These include the Mason’s Loft and Chapter House Roof void, the crypt passages and walkway over the Five Sisters Window, and also the West End Bell Towers. The tours depart at 7pm and 8.30pm and cost £8 a head. Due to their high demand, tickets are available only in advance from York Minster Box Office on 01904 557208 or www.boxoffice.yorkminster.org/public. Health restrictions apply and visitors must be 16 or over to go on the tours. The Undercroft and Treasury will also remain open and tower trips will be available at 45-minute intervals throughout the evening, weather permitting.

The Dean of York, the Very Rev Keith Jones, said: “We look forward to welcoming visitors and locals on the night of January 9 to see and hear some new and different sides of a building that we all think of as a well-loved friend."

Minster Nights is free to York residents with either a York Minster resident card or proof of address. For non-residents, the normal Minster admission prices apply.