Sheffield is gearing up to lure thousands of Olympics fans to the lower Don Valley for three days of sport, music and medal winning performances.

A team from Sheffield International Venues (SIV) working with partners including Sheffield City Council and the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, is organising the three day Fans Festival on August 3,4 and 5.

SIV, which boasts 19 leisure and entertainment venues across the city, has pinpointed the Don Valley cluster of venues, which includes Don Valley Stadium and Bowl, as a base for Sheffield’s Olympic supporters to gather and watch the action.

The free Fans Festival, which will feature a huge screen showing live events from London 2012, coincides with the biggest concentration of medal events over the three week long sports extravaganza.

The weekend will include the finals of the swimming, cycling, rowing, high profile athletics events including the 100m men’s final and most importantly could see Sheffield’s very own Jessica Ennis go for gold in the heptathlon final.

It is hoped that thousands of Sheffield’s residents will travel to the lower Don Valley to enjoy the performances of Team GB and watch other international sports stars stake their claim for a position on the podium.

Steve Brailey, chief executive of SIV, said: “Playing a part in the London 2012 celebrations is a very exciting prospect for us.

“The Fan Festival concept has been extremely popular with football fans for World Cups, so it would be our aim to duplicate this success by allowing South Yorkshire’s supporters to descend on the venues to watch the action on a big screen.

“We want to create a big party atmosphere in the stadium, with lots of attractions for all the family.

“This is all about the city getting together and supporting the athletes and celebrating the Games. We hope we can celebrate South Yorkshire winning gold. It would be fantastic if Jess Ennis, one of our home grown athletes could win the gold watched by thousands of people at Don Valley Stadium, where she first started training.”

Other attractions over the three-day event will include market stalls, food and drink, competitions and have-a-go sessions for various Olympic sports. A Tramlines style paid for music festival is also being considered for the Don Valley Bowl.

SIV and the city of Sheffield are very well equipped to stage key events benefitting from a fantastic portfolio of hosting mass participation events across its venues.

This is coupled with the city’s strong sporting heritage which includes the fact that many of the Olympic athletes actually train within SIV’s venues.

Councillor Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Business, Jobs and Growth, said: “We know that people in Sheffield will want the opportunity to get together, watch the London 2012 Olympics at an exciting event and cheer on Jess and all the other athletes and GB teams based in the city. We are determined to provide people in Sheffield with this opportunity, which is why we’re working with Sheffield International Venues (SIV) to provide a weekend to remember for everyone in the city.”

More than 80 sports stars from South Yorkshire could qualify for the Olympics in sports as varied as table tennis to boxing and sailing.

Full details will be revealed over the coming months. Anyone groups or businesses wishing to be involved in the Fans Festival should contact Nicola Doherty at SIV on n.doherty@sivltd.com