THOUSANDS will become part of history tomorrow when the first Marlow Town Regatta and Festival gets underway.

Organisers are praying for blue skies and warm weather for the event, which was set up after the decision to move Marlow Regatta, to Dorney Lake, near Eton.

Dragon boat racing, traditional rowing events, and a fair will be some of the attractions for visitors in straw boaters and blazers.

There will also be musical tribute to Marlow's most famous son Sir Steven Redgrave, written by Patrick Gazard, director of music at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School, and performed by Wycombe School's jazz orchestra.

Town councillor James Campbell, one of the organisers, said: "I would not be surprised if we have more than 3,000 people.

"Everything is going ahead magnificently. Everything is set for it to be a very good day."

Sir Steven Redgrave, who is joint president of the event with his wife Ann, will be at the official opening ceremony at 10am.

Many schools have entered teams and there is a packed rowing schedule from 8am to 8pm.

Cllr Campbell added that the organisers had to close their subscription lists early and there were more than 200 entries for the rowing events.

Forecasters are predicting bright and dry weather in south Buckinghamshire but also thundery showers later in the day.

Lance Slater, another organiser, added: "This year the professional racing will be at Dorney and everybody understands the reason for that. We have had to break with 150 years of tradition but we hope this event will continue for another 150 years."

"What we set out to do was recreate the traditional experience and all that went with it in past years."

Many attractions are planned by the waterside including a traditional fair and subscribers will take advantage of their very own beer tent and Pimm's tent.

Insp Andy Kitchen, of Marlow police, said there would be 30 police officers on duty, although they were not expecting trouble.

He said: "Thirty are directly connected with the event. We are just there to make sure everything flows smoothly. There are some hazards like the river and the fair."