Blaze of glory

8:00am Friday 16th March 2007

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By The Page Turner »

Oxford's showpiece Broad Street went up in flames last night with an incendiary fire display to launch Oxfordshire's Millennium celebrations.

The centrepiece of the event was a bamboo spire holding a fiery pendulum, created by artist Ted Dewan and a team of students.

Each full swing of the pendulum counts off one of the 1,000 years of Oxfordshire, Mr Dewan, who lives in North Oxford, has joined forces with French arts event company Carabosse to set up the Luminox fire installations, which will be lit up until Saturday night.

Mr Dewan said: "My legs are like jelly, but it's exciting to see it. It will be hard to go back to normal life after this."

Cath Nightingale, a spokesman for Oxford Inspires, said: "It's great to see the spire in place in Broad Street. I always had faith that Ted would be able to complete the job in time."

Caroline Begalla, 30, a volunteer with Carabosse, said: "It's a magical and beautiful atmosphere - I think people will get a lot out of it."

Arts Council spokesman Peter Hewitt added: "An estimated 14,000 people will be on the streets over the next three days, not just watching, but participating in a whole range of activities rooted in the arts.

"Giving more people the opportunity to experience the arts is an important part of what the we do, and I'm glad that we have been able to give our support to Luminox."