IT is one of the most historic journeys that help shape the future of the world.

It was almost 400 years ago that the Pilgrim Fathers boarded their ship the Mayflower and set off across the Atlantic to New England.

Now a £300,000 programme of "world class" events is to be held in Southampton to celebrate that epic crossing to the United States.

Southampton will join 11 other towns and cities to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim fathers setting sail for New England.

It will see Southampton play one of the key roles in celebrations which are due to start at the end of 2019 running through 2020.

Now the Mayflower 400 Southampton committee is putting together a programme of events to include a light show, a refurbished Mayflower memorial, a "grime opera", new musicals, history tours, educational workshops - and will aim to get "every single Southampton resident" involved.

City culture boss Councillor Satvir Kaur has had £30,000 from city council funds over the next three years put aside for the events.

It will be matched by a £99,000 donation from landowners Barker-Mill Foundation, whose family were successful merchants in the city at the time the Mayflower set sail.

And Mayflower Theatre are also investing £100,000 and commissioning four new 45 minute musicals inspired by the story.

Mayflower Theatre's chief executive and chair of the programme's steering group Michael Ockwell said: "It's really quite exciting. It's most definitely about getting people in Southampton involved with their story. We are in discussions with people in Boston. There are around 20 million Americans who reckon they're descended from that journey. But it's not about replicating the journey on the boat. It's about shared concerns and ambitions that we all share today".

The theatre has already started working with young people on the programme, and Michael will be commissioning four composers to write four new musicals to be shown on one night.

The Barker-Mill family were successful merchants in Southampton when the Mayflower arrived in Southampton. Tim Jobling, BMF Trustee, said: “When we heard about what the Southampton Cultural Development Trust had planned for the Mayflower’s 400th celebrations, we knew we had to be involved. It’s a unique opportunity to commemorate not only the legacy of the passengers and crew who undertook the journey and to highlight their stories and heritage, but to also continue to extend the legacy of the Barker-Mill family and their links with the city of Southampton.”

Cllr Kaur added: "There's going to be a variety of events and activities. Every single person in Southampton will have a part to play and it will bring millions into the local economy. And if there's any dressing up involved then of course I'll be getting involved in that too".

A spokesperson for the UK Mayflower 400 project - which is being led by south west coast city Plymouth - said the project "will champion the values of freedom, faith and personal liberty that informed the original journey, and which continue to be articulated in the special relationship between the UK, US and Netherlands" and "recognise the impact of the Mayflower’s journey on Native American communities and address themes of colonialism and migration, providing an accurate, inclusive account of the Mayflower’s legacy".

It's the ship that famously took the first English Puritans, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620.

Although it's not known exactly where it was built ths ship is thought to have been around 100ft long, and carried 102 passengers and around 30 crew.

Its journey to New England has become an iconic voyage in the recent world history, with around 20 million Americans believing themselves to be descendants of the community of fugitives who established themselves in what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony and was written by the male passengers of the ship.