More than 1000 musicians from across the world are set to arrive in St Andrews on Tuesday for the World Saxophone Congress.

The six-day event will see some of the top players of classical saxophone music join together in a series of ensembles, bands and orchestras.

Concerts are set to be held at a variety of venues in the historic university town including the Younger Hall, St Salvator's Chapel and the Byre Theatre. The event will also include street performances.

The festival is held every three years and has been held all over the world including in Tokyo, Japan, Bangkok, Thailand and Toronto, Canada.

The St Andrews event is the 16th to be held and will run until July 15.

It was last held in Britain more than 30 years ago and is seen as one of the most important events in the classical music industry’s calendar and this year coincides with the Olympic Games in London as well as St Andrews University’s 600th anniversary celebrations.

The university Music Centre will open its doors to participants and visitors of the congress, which include the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the renowned Zagreb Saxophone Quartet. Virtuoso saxophonist 12-year-old Matvey Sherling will also be performing a recital.

Richard Ingham, the event’s organiser and musician-in-residence at the university, said: "It’s massive, we’ve been working on it since we won the bid to host it in Bangkok three years ago and it’s a great thrill to be bringing it here, with such a cornucopia of concerts and recitals every day.

"I want to show saxophonists from across the world what Scotland and the UK has to offer, and also I want people from the UK to see and hear what other players from all over the world are doing. There’s some amazing stuff going on out there."