YEAR 2000 celebrations in Blackburn are all set to go continental with a Spanish Week starting on Monday.

Culture, music and art from Iberia will come to the town in the guise of a special exhibition and a classical music concert.

On Wednesday the Spain: Heart of Fire concert at Blakey's Cafe Bar will feature recitals of classical Spanish song including works by the famous composer Manuel de Falla.

They will be performed by Helena Kean, a mezzo soprano from Burnley and pianist Graham Jackson.

There will also be a lecture entitled "Hidden Spain" including photographic images of the cultural life of southern Spain.

It will be presented by Brenda Kean, a photographer and writer from Burnley and the focus will be on the history and traditions of the country.

The first part of the presentation will be on the history and legacy of Moors of the Alhambra Palace in Granada.

And the second part will be about the real Spain, looking behind the sun, sand and sangria stereotype.

Meanwhile an exhibition of photographs, also the work of Brenda Kean, is currently on show at Blackburn Library.

The exhibition entitled "Images of Andalucia" will be at the town hall until Saturday.

Admission is free.

Brenda said: "These events will raise awareness of the wealth of Spanish culture, language, history and music and its accessibility to people in Lancashire.

"We hope the people of Blackburn and Darwen will come and feel the warmth of Spain in the middle of an English winter."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.