Proms in the Park organiser John Fisher plans to go out with a bang when he stages his last music and fireworks spectacular in Crawley on Saturday.

Mr Fisher has several surprises up his sleeve for the tenth Crawley Proms in Tilgate Park before he hands over the reins to a new organiser.

He said: "The proms is my baby and it will be a wrench to hand it over. But I want to spend more time with my family."

Mr Fisher, who runs Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead, got the idea for the proms while on holiday with his wife, Jackie, in France in 1992.

He said: "We were in a caravan park and arrived back to hear music from an island in the middle of a lake and fireworks. We looked at each other and said, 'Tilgate Park'."

He organised the first proms in 1993 which became the biggest annual event in the Crawley calendar. It attracts crowds of nearly 10,000.

Every year Mr Fisher tries to increase what he calls the "wow factor" with amazing acts and fireworks.

He hopes to top last year's finale when soprano Julie McGlashan sang Rule Britannia from the top of a 150ft crane but says it is a closely-guarded secret.

Taking part will be the Sussex Symphony Orchestra and Crawley Millennium Concert Band, which Mr Fisher also founded, conducted by his daughter Sally, together with Boogie Wonderland, who play Seventies music. During the evening, there will be wing-walking on low-flying aircraft over the lake and a display by the two largest lasers in Europe.

Mr Fisher said: "There will be a lump in my throat that night. I have had a fabulous ten years running the proms but I need more time with my family.

"Work starts on the proms two months after the previous one has finished. It takes months of planning."

The proms is the result of a partnership between Crawley Borough Council and Crawley Festival and is the finale to the festival. Its sponsors include English Partnerships and Thales.

A few tickets are available from The Hawth box office on 01293 553636.