THE annual Festival of Remembrance will be held on Sunday, November 7 in the Barbican Centre.

The auditorium will reverberate to the sound of music for the first time since the York Guildhall Orchestra played there on May 15, after City of York Council said the Royal British Legion could use the venue after all.

This small victory has given the Legion veterans the chance to mark one of the most significant landmarks of the Second World War: the 60th anniversary of D-Day and the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy. "It was a year when it was possible, after five years of war, to see that victory was, at long last, in sight," says producer, Brian Coates.

He has put together his 14th successive programme, this time revolving around the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and D-Day in 1944.

The Normandy Band of the Queen's Division top the bill, playing regimental marches, show tunes, pieces by Eric Coates and Elgar and a light-hearted speciality item. York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir performs choral works, a Beatles song and a Les Miserables show number.

Four members of the 246 Gurkha Signal Squadron, 2 Signal Regiment present the Khukri Dance (the Khukri being the curved Gurkha knife); three children of squadron members dance a popular folk dance; and festival assistant producer Eileen Lavender's team of York Ladies perform Remembering, a poem written for the festival.

Janina Sweetenham and ex-officer George Horne are the vocal soloists; stage and screen actor John White is the narrator; Don Pears is the pianist. The festival opens with the Parade of the Standards and closes with a service of remembrance. For tickets (£8 to £10), ring 01904 656688. Proceeds go to the Poppy Appeal.

Updated: 15:58 Thursday, November 04, 2004