THIS year’s York Beer and Cider Festival will be the first to be held outdoors in the event’s 35 year history.

In the wake of growing success in recent years in various city venues, this year’s festival will be held on the city’s Knavesmire racecourse.

Marquees will be set up for the event, from September 17 to 19, and it will coincide with the city’s Festival of Food and Drink.

The new venue has been chosen because it enables the organisers to hold a larger event than ever before, giving more people a chance to sample up to 200 different beers, 30 ciders and perries, regional wines and foreign beers.

Organiser Melissa Reed said: "We’ve had some extremely successful years for the festival and this year we’ve decided to go for something even bigger and better.

"Previous venues have been a great success, but we’ve been looking for a venue that offers us the opportunity to run the type and size of event we know people want. The Knavesmire gives us that chance."