A new open air music spectacular is being planned for the Spring on Brighton seafront.

Zap Productions hopes to stage Brighton Live on Sunday, May 13, along the Lower Promenade between midday and 9pm on a number of separate stages.

It will be part of the Streets of Brighton Festival and follows the success of BBC Music Live in Brighton last year.

Zap Productions is asking Brighton and Hove Council for permission to stage the event, which is expected to attract thousands of people.

The event, a collaboration with organisers of a music festival in Rouen, will celebrate cultural diversity and forge links between France and the UK, the organisers say.

A spokeswoman for Zap Productions said the group hoped to secure EU funding for Brighton Live, which would involve music, performance and the spoken word.

If plans are given the go ahead, stage one will feature up and coming French bands with a range of musical styles from reggae to ska to world music.

Stage two will house the Omniculture Carnival, a celebration of cultural diversity with music, spoken word and performance pieces.

A third stage will be dedicated to local unsigned bands as a showcase for this county's live music skills.

Councillors are expected to approve more than 40 other events in the city, most of them free, in parks, open spaces and Madeira Drive at a meeting on Tuesday.

They include a demonstration of human-powered vehicles in Hove Park on August 3, and a 200-metre sprint race for them on Hove promenade the following day.

Other regular attractions making a comeback are Southern FM's Party in the Park in Preston Park on June 24, and Gay and Lesbian Pride on August 11.

Major events in Madeira Drive include the London to Brighton bike ride on June 17, the Brighton International Triathlon on September 2, and the Veteran Car Run on November 4.