A spectacular firework display will bring the 2002 Edinburgh International Festival to a close on Saturday evening.

Pyrotechnics experts are preparing a grand finale for the world-famous arts festival in Scotland's capital by letting off more than 100,000 fireworks.

Wilf Scott and Keith Webb, who staged the Jubilee fireworks at Buckingham Palace, are organising the display which will be choreographed to classical music and set against the dramatic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.

More than a quarter of a million people are expected to watch from various vantage points throughout the capital.

Highlights

Total attendances at the International Festival are expected to have reached at least 400,000, a festival spokeswoman told BBC News Online.

Total box office income is likely to top �2.3m, she added.

Festival highlights included the �5 Nights series, which drew over 20,000 people - many apparently new to classical music - into the concert hall.

Dance also drew the crowds, with a new production of Swan Lake filling the 3,000-seat Playhouse Theatre for a week.

'Record-breaking'

The other festivals which run alongside the International Festival - including the Festival Fringe and the book and film festivals - have already reported record ticket sales for 2002.

Edinburgh City Council leader Donald Anderson said: "It's been the most successful year for Edinburgh's festivals."

"And we are extremely confident that 2003 will be another record-breaking year.

"The city is magical at this time of year and its vibrant bustling, lively atmosphere makes it unlike any other place in the world."

The combined effect of the festivals brought some �140m into the local economy, according to Graham Birse of the Edinburgh and Lothian Tourist Board.

The influx of visitors swelled the Scottish capital's population by 250,000, he said.