The amazing Cirque Surreal is set to wow the crowds with a mix of the sublime and the ridiculously good.

Acrobats, comedians and performers from the four corners of the globe have convened on Brighton's Preston Park for the three week spectacular which The Argus got a sneak preview of on Friday.

Among the acts in the show, which is part of the Brighton Festival Fringe, are the gravity defying Chinese "Oriental Swan" duo who combine stupefying strength and balance to produce a mix of ballet and physical theatre.

In the performance, Lui Jai Jai stands on Maio Chang Wei's shoulders performing twists and turns before producing their masterpiece the "swan".

Another highlight is set to be the agile Russian, Victoria Antipova, who scrambles up and down a rope in the big top performing outrageously difficult looking stunts while the Belgian duo Les Freres Taquin duo will bring surreal comedy to the stage with their Mechanical Man show.

It is a combination of acts, according to Cirque Surreal creator, Phillip Gandey, a mix of performers that has evolved throughout his show's lifetime and now provides a template for modern circuses everywhere.

He said: "I wanted to have a circus that featured the best artists internationally.

"I've been in circus all my life - 40 something years now - and I went to the circus festivals and we got the best Russian artists, the best Chinese artists and then we allied that with South African dance, Cossack dance, Argentinean bolas and we put them together in a show.

"It's a circus for the 21st Century, one that the whole family can enjoy. It's modern and it's fast paced."

As Tony Millar, spokesman for the show said, Cirque Surreal believes traditional circuses with their sawdust carpet and broken seats and use of animals are totally out of fashion.

He said: "Circuses got a bit tired and there was a big issue with the animals being used.

"Years ago people used to see the circus coming to town as the big thing, it was the main event. But now we are competing with all sorts of sources of entertainment, TV, the internet and films.

"This is the evolution of the circus. We use only human performers and it is absolutely amazing."

Among the other performers are The Voyagers, who are a Zulu dancer, a martial artist, a bolas dancer and a Cossack dancer.

In all there are ten different countries represented in the show, which is said to be Europe's biggest circus, from four continents.

It has taken around 70 people five days to set up the huge site on Preston Park, which also includes a bar area with bean bags and a canopy roof serving Sabai, the Thailand wine spritzer.

And Cirque Surreal began a three week stint, lasting until May 20, in the city on Friday.

It is part of the wider Brighton Festival and Festival Fringe which is set to attract huge audiences from all over the country to the city.

The festivals start officially on May 5 and run until May 27.

For tickets or more details about Cirque Surreal call 01273 709709 or visit the box office at Preston Park.