A GROUP of young actors are set to be the face of Oxford as it helps celebrate the end of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture.

The city was among 17 which bid to become the 2008 cultural capital but, despite making a shortlist of six, ultimately lost out to Liverpool.

Each of the unsuccessful cities was invited to take part in the final celebrations — which includes Portrait of a Nation — and the 12 young people, who have been rehearsing since February, are set to fly the flag for Oxford.

The performance, called Car to Spire, has been the result of a partnership between the Oxfordshire Youth Arts Partnership Trust, Pegasus Theatre and Oxford Preservation Trust.

OYAP Trust general manager Jo Griffiths said: “We took applications from young people that wanted to take part and formed a group which has been working with artists from Pegasus and street theatre artists Electric Cabaret.

“We have also worked with Oxford Preservation Trust who, with their heritage and Oxford-focused background, have allowed us to look at the heritage and history of Oxford in a lot of detail.”

The 12 young people, all aged between 14 and 20, gave up all their holidays since February to work on the project The result will be a multi-discipline performance, crossing mime, acting, street theatre, music and dance — including a bicycle ballet — and Mrs Griffiths said she believed they would act as excellent ambassadors for the city.

She said: “It has been a really rewarding process and the young people have shown an enormous amount of commitment to the project.

“It will be a whistlestop tour through some of the important historical events and key cultural influences on Oxford as a city expressed in new and exciting ways.

“Some of the things they have been saying about their own personal stories which they have discovered through their research have been the most touching.”

Among those taking part is 17-year-old Will Platt, who discovered that five generations of his family had lived in Oxford.

He said: “It will be an honour for me to represent my home town of Oxford.

“I relish the opportunity to be able to take part in such an exciting project, it will require a big team effort but I am sure it will be a huge success.”

The show will be previewed at the BMW Plant in Cowley on Saturday, November 22, before the group take the show to a two-day event at St George’s Hall in Liverpool at the end of the year.