Blue Peter will be filmed live in Burnley next month

Presenters Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood will be broadcasting live from Towneley Park as part of a nationwide tour following the Olympic Torch relay.

The town is one of only nine locations chosen for the show.

The 30-minute programme will be broadcast live on Saturday June 23 and will be an ultimate guide to the Olympics for children, complete with fact-packed profiles of the biggest Olympic sports and interviews and master-classes with Olympic stars, past and present.

Mick Cartledge, Burnley Council’s director of community services, said: “It was great when Burnley was picked to host the Olympic Torch relay and now we’ve been chosen as one of the few places across the UK to host Blue Peter’s Big Olympic Tour as well, which makes it an Olympic double-whammy for Burnley.

“The BBC was looking at a number of potential venues and we have worked hard to show them what a great venue Towneley is, so we are really pleased that our efforts have paid off.

“Blue Peter is a national institution and we’re proud to be able to play host to the programme. This is a marvellous opportunity to show the best of Burnley to a national audience.”

The programme will be followed by a special free live event for families, from 10am to 4pm.

After the live TV show , which will be broadcast on CBBC at 9am, Helen and Barney, plus their guests, will host the free event for families run by BBC Learning, which will include a host of interactive action-packed activities.

CBBC fans will get the chance to try out a range of Olympic events, investigate the science of sport, go back in time to try out the Olympic Games of a bygone era, have a go at being a sports commentator and lots more activities.

For more information on the free roadshow or to find out how you could be in the audience of the Blue Peter live broadcast, visit bbc.co.uk/bluepeter.

Tickets for the live broadcast will be on a strictly limited basis and entry will be by ticket only.