Cowley Road will come alive on Sunday as it hosts the Eat the World festival.

The festival, which is replacing the Cowley Road Carnival, will see the Oxford street buzzing with international food stalls, music, street theatre, dance workshops, cookery demonstrations and children's activities.

The events start at noon and will continue until 6pm. The road will be closed to traffic from 9am until 8pm.

Adrian Sell, the operations manager for organisers East Oxford Action, said: "There's a real buzz of excitement about it all. People are starting to realise just how much will be going on.

"We are hoping for a good turnout and look forward to seeing everyone having a good time and enjoying the atmosphere and activities."

Up until a few weeks ago, plans for the festival had been scaled down due to a lack of funds.

But then carmaker BMW, which runs the Cowley Mini plant, stepped in, donating more than £10,000 to dramatically boost the range of activities available on the day.

Mr Sell said: "It has become much more than just a food festival now.

"There's a mini-Glastonbury feel to it all."

There will be three live music stages, four sound systems, street performers, dance and theatre workshops and community food markets.

Six local primary schools will also be involved, with schoolchildren performing on the world music stage in Bartlemas Road.

Local businesses will provide stalls and food demonstrations while sponsors BMW will have a community display.

A key supporter is Aziz-Ur Rahman, proprietor of the award-winning Bangladeshi restaurant that bears his name.

Sunday is the culmination of a week-long festival of food at his restaurant with a special menu.

On the day itself, his chefs will demonstrate their skills in Thai and Indian cuisine, plus Mediterranean dishes, which is a feature of his new restaurant, Aziz Pandesia, at Folly Bridge.

Programmes of events will be available on the day.

Last year's event attracted 25,000 people and was a huge success, which an Oxford Brookes University study later revealed was worth more than £1m to businesses and organisations in Cowley Road and the surrounding area.

Due to the festival, buses that normally use Cowley Road will operate via Iffley Road in both directions. Oxford Bus Company No 5 services will run via Between Towns Road, Church Cowley Road and Iffley Road, instead of via Oxford Road and Cowley Road.