The annual edition of Rome's Notte Bianca, or White Night, will take place from the evening of 17 September until dawn on Sunday 18 September. It is the one night of the year when the city stays awake all night and this year there will be more than 500 activities and entertainments on offer for everyone. Music, theatre, art, sport, cinema, literature, gastronomy, shopping and special features for children.

A concert at the Campidoglio will open the event at 20.30, and the Oscar-winning Italian actor Roberto Begnini will read extracts from Dantes Divina Commedia.

Other highlights of the evening include: Flamenco at the Cavea of the Auditorium, Parco della Musica, starting at 22.00; guided tours of the sets at Cinecitt studios beginning at 21.00; traditional songs and dance from Tibet performed be La Terra Magica;a Tibetan theatre company currently on tour in Italy, at the Teatro Argentina at 21.30; the Equestrian theatre Zingaro with a live performance with acrobats, music and horses at the Teatro Palladium, Universit Roma Tre, Piazza Bartolomeo Romano 8, from 20,00 -02.00.

There will be a myriad of historic sites and art galleries to visit. Pubs and clubs, many with live music, will remain open until the small hours and even some gyms will be open all night for those who want to work-out instead of eating and drinking.

The night will end with a concert at around 06.00 on the Pincio in which famous Italian comic actors Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo will take part in a 30-minute sketch which they are preparing for their new show. The majority of the activities on offer overnight are free.

On this important night, Rome will not forget the less fortunate; several organisations will be collecting donations, including Mastercard, which will make over a proportion of payments made on its card to the Casa Famiglia, a centre in Rome for mothers with young children who find themselves in difficulty. A co-operative from the Rebibbia prison in Rome will be selling Made in Jail T-shirts. Look out also for AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation) which will be raising money to dig wells in Uganda, and for Amnesty International and The Italian Multiple Sclerosis association.

Traffic will not be permitted into the ZTL, the areas of the city where access to traffic is limited to those who hold permits, and public transport services will be increased. The Notte Bianca is organised by the Rome city council, and the chamber of commerce, in collaboration with the ministry of fine arts and culture. Over two million took part in last years event.

For information and full programme listings see www.lanottebianca.it.