More than 700 voices are set to raise the roof in the largest performance ever staged in the south of Handel's eighteenth century masterpiece Messiah.

Choirs from all over the county will come together to sing the classic work, which was first performed in 1742 and is an official Place to Be event.

The concert will take place at the Brighton Centre in December.

It is the brainchild of Sussex Symphony Orchestra conductor Mark Andrew-James, who has spent the last two and a half years organising it.

He said: "We wanted to do something special for the millennium and we considered this year to be the real millennium.

"I'm extremely excited about it. As it's getting closer and the interest is building up, it feels like it's really going to happen. I think it will be fantastic."

Sussex soloists Anne Collins and Neil Jenkins will be taking time out of their international schedules to sing in the production.

Neil, of Hove, also said he was excited about the production. He said: "I do love singing this work and I have been involved or associated with it for the whole 34 years of my career. It is the sort of piece one can never tire of."

He said the rendition of the Messiah is unusual in several ways because it is very rare to amass so many singers for a rehearsed performance of the piece. He said it is rare to perform it with such a large choir at all these days.

He said: "This performance promises to be slightly if not majorly different to how the work has usually been performed in the last 50 years or so.

"Having such a big orchestra and such a huge choir is like turning the clock back."

He said: "It looks as though it will be a pretty spectacular performance. I think Mark is such an enthusiastic conductor and his orchestra play their socks off for him.

"If he can get his chorus to give the same kind of commitment then it may well blow the roof off."

Tickets are now on sale for the performance at the Brighton Centre on December 2 at 7.30pm.

They cost £12, £10 and £8, with concessions available.