A ‘BRITISH pageant’ featuring a cast of 200 has begun to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Latter-day Saints.

Thousands of visitors are expected in Lancashire to attend the celebrations and a series of performances at the Mormon Temple in Chorley. Around 15,000 tickets have been sold for a the pageant, which is the first of its kind in Europe and the first outside the United States.

The British Pageant will focus on the history of the Church in the British Isles and has been written and performed by members from around the UK. It will show the origins of the religion in the UK dating back to 1837 when the first missionaries arrived from the States.

The performance dates began yesterday evening, with other performances tonight, Friday and Saturday and next week.

In addition to the evening performance involving a cast of more than 200, each day will have pre-show performers and other activities for the audience.

There are some tickets left for the performances and there will be a stand-by line at every performance to fill empty chairs.

Visit www.britishpageant.org