SHE’S big, beautiful and will be christened in Southampton.

Cruise line MSC has announced its newest ship Bellissima will be named at a ceremony in Southampton on March 2, 2019.

MSC says Bellissima – which means ‘beautiful’ in Italian – will be the biggest ship ever named in Southampton, weighing in at 171,598 GRT (gross register tonnage).

Currently under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique yard in St Nazaire, France, Bellissima will be the company’s biggest vessel to date, able of carrying 5,700 passengers.

The christening ceremony, which will bring 5,000 guests from more than 50 countries to the city, is part of a three-day stay for the 315m ship before she embarks on her inaugural voyage to the western Mediterranean, where she will be based.

Antonio Paradiso, MSC’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “This is a huge demonstration of our commitment to the UK market and the city of Southampton. To showcase such a beautiful ship here for three days will be exciting.”

Mr Paradiso said that MSC was looking at Britain and Ireland as a destination rather than just an embarkation point and that there were plans for more MSC ships to call at Southampton.

Bellissima, which is costing 750m euros to build, will have a specially designed performance space to accommodate Cirque du Soleil shows produced exclusively for the ship. The entire ceiling of the inside promenade will be covered by a giant 480sqm LED screen – virtual sky transmitting images around the clock. There will also be 20 bars, 10 restaurants and a water park.

The construction of Bellissima, and her sister ship Grandiosa, to be launched later in 2019, are the first of MSC’s mega-ships and are the first phase in a major expansion of the MSC fleet.

The family-owned firm will be spending 9.2 billion euros to build ten more ships between now and 2026, bringing their fleet up to 24.

MSC Cruises is part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company the world’s second biggest container shipping operator with around 500 ships in its cargo fleet.