DARTMOUTH looks set to play a leading part in historic Mayflower celebrations which could be as big as the 2012 Olympic Games.

A small working group in the town is already holding talks about plans for the 2020 programme of events to mark the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim Fathers setting out for America.

They will be working closely with officials in Plymouth, which will be the centre of a series of activities to celebrate the voyage of 1620.

And last night Dartmouth mayor and mayoress Cllr Rob and Di Lyons were guests at an event on the Mayflower Steps in the city to start the countdown.

Prince Charles has been asked to be patron of the celebrations and an invitation has even gone to the White House for the future US President to attend – six years in advance.

'It will be huge, about as big as the Olympics,' Cllr Roger Chilcott told Dartmouth Town Council's general purposes committee on Tuesday.

'You may think it's far-fetched, but it's serious business.'

Discussions are under way with partners in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as well as in Boston, for activities to be run in conjunction with events in American, he said. It is hoped to obtain lottery funding of up to £10m for the celebrations at the end of the decade.

'Everybody is working at high levels here and in America,' said Cllr Chilcott. 'Big things are going on. It will be of national and international significance and an opportunity this area can't miss.'

Harwich, in Essex, insists that the town should be remembered as the birthplace of the May­flower and has launched a £2.5m project to build a life-sized replica of the three-masted ship and sail it across the Atlantic to mark the 400th anniversary. The planned journey will see the boat come into South­ampton, Dartmouth and Ply­mouth.

Cllr Chilcott said the working group would be giving a presentation on the anniversary plans to other groups in the town shortly.

'We want this to be a real community celebration that provides a cultural and economic legacy for the town,' he said afterwards.

One of the ideas is for people to dress up in costumes of that era and to build a plantation village in Royal Avenue Gardens, similar to America's living history museum of a small farming community built by the English colonists.

Dartmouth has long been proud of its historical links with the pilgrim voyage to the New World when the Mayflower put in for repairs at Bayard's Cove before setting sail for America.

The Mayflower left Plymouth Barbican on Sept­ember 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and crew on board.

It arrived 66 days later in Cape Cod on the US east coast on November 21, 1620, before finally landing in the colony of 'Plimoth' Massach­usetts on December 21, 1620.

It is estimated that over 16 million Americans today are directly descended from those on the ship.

Yesterday thousands of people were due to gather on Plymouth Hoe following a special service besides Sutton Harbour for Illuminate, an event marking the official count down of the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower sailing.

The service programme included performances from the Plymouth International Choir, partnered with a choir in the US, and saw candles lit and a procession, some holding giant illuminated props including a Mayflower Ship.

Residents and visitors were invited to 'light' their candles – electric or candle phone apps – and take part in a group formation, which from the air created the number '400'.