Tonight is the official start of Creating Cambridge: Our City, Our Stories, Our Stuff, a fantastic programme of events that celebrate the city and will run alongside Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas.

The free-to-attend launch will kick off at 5.30pm and will feature a performance by the acclaimed spoken word artist Hollie McNish as well as all kinds of “music, meandering and creativity,” according to the organisers.

A range of exhibitions, workshops, performances, art installations and talks will be on offer at Cambridge University Museums and in locations all over the city, including the Grand Arcade, Cambridge Arts Picturehouse and Ross Street Community Centre.

These include a special exhibition commemorating the lives of Cambridge soldiers in the First World War, the part-theatre-part-quiz Things of Cambridge: A Pub Quiz, hosted and performed by actor-comedian Tom Roden, and a lively debate about the state of public art, from a panel including Kettle’s Yard Director Andrew Nairne, Futurecity’s Andy Robinson and Fabienne Nicholas from the Contemporary Art Society.

Elly Wright, Events Coordinator for the University of Cambridge Museums, said: “With such a broad range of events, many of which are free, we are sure there’s something to excite and intrigue everyone. Cambridge will be a hub of culture this autumn with so much going on at so many venues, it will be really exciting to see and the atmosphere is sure to be buzzing.”

Tickets for this evening’s launch and for all events included in the programme can be booked via the Festival of Ideas website.