HISTORIC Bolton brass band will be banging the drum for the town as it takes part in the 2019 French Open Brass Band Championships.

Eagley Band, is one of the oldest brass bands in the world having been formed in 1850, will be performing in France for the first time in its history.

The competition attracts competitors from all over the world and this year's championships take place over the weekend of the June 7, 8 and 9.

Musical director Chris Wormald, who has a 100 per cent winning record conducting at the French Championships, will lead Eagley Band as it flies out from Liverpool Airport to Paris on the Friday evening, from where it will travel by coach to its hotel in Tours, near Amboise. From the band’s weekend base it will compete in the main championships on the Saturday morning and afternoon as well as performing and competing in an outdoor entertainment contest later in the evening set in the backdrop of Amboise Castle, where thousands of local people and international visitors watch the performances of every band.

A jury of international brass band judges will announce the results in the stunning, floodlit surroundings of Amboise Castle.

And the band can next be heard back home when it performs the Greatest Showman concert concert in the Victoria Hall on Saturday, July 6.

For more information see www.eagleyband.co.uk