Blenheim Palace is gearing up for a year of celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of the battle after which it was named.

To welcome extra visitors, the season is being extended by more than two months, to February 14-December 12.

Subject to public entertainment licences being granted by West Oxfordshire District Council on Tuesday, the highlight will be a music festival staged in the Great Court early in July, featuring a night each of pop, jazz and classical music.

Starting next month, staff are planning military displays and historical re-enactments of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, in which troops under John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, defeated a French army near the village of Blindheim, in Germany.

Queen Anne agreed to use public money to build the palace in Woodstock for the duke in thanks for the victory. There will be an exhibition on John Churchill in the Stable Court from May 29 to September 12.

Other events include the Great Blenheim Palace Easter Egg Challenge from April 9-12, a home and interior design show between May 7-9 and a flower show from June 10-13.

The annual three-day Country Landowners' Association game fair, which usually attracts 100,000 people, starts on July 23.

A palace spokesman said: "It's a massive anniversary for us and we're all really proud of the fact the palace has been here 300 years. We also want to bring the palace alive, and make people aware it is a living, breathing palace and give them a glimpse of what is happening here."