A BUMPER weekend with Albion heading for promotion, the launch of the festival season and a heatwave is expected to give Brighton and Hove a £6m boost.

The unique combination of the Seagulls' crunch match, the start of Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe and temperatures soaring higher than Ibiza will make it the best weekend to pay the city a visit so far this year.

Hove MP Peter Kyle said Saturday and Sunday's events were proof that Brighton was "the coolest place to live in Britain".

And council leader Warren Morgan described the offering as "amazing", comparing its benefits to the economy with a major event like Brighton Marathon which brings in £6 million to the city.

The fringe kicked off last night with a firework display at Old Steine while the festival was due to launch this morning with the Children’s Parade just hours before Albion's 12.30pm kick-off.

Meanwhile, the mercury should rise to 19C today and 23C tomorrow which is higher than Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Athens and Istanbul.

Mr Kyle MP said he was "buzzing" ahead of Albion’s game with Middlesbrough, where a win would see them automatically promoted to the Premier League and in line to benefit from £290 million if they manage to stay up the following season.

He said: “It seems too exciting to quite take in. It’s such a big thing that even someone who’s not really a football fan like me got really involved and interested on Monday watching the game.

“It will be a landmark weekend for generations to come if they can do it and we will look back at this moment as the moment that changed the city for the better.

“I said it in my maiden speech, this is the coolest place to live in Britain – and this weekend is proof of that.

“When it comes to culture, sport and climate at a great city on the coast we really know how to put on a show and enjoy ourselves.”

Among the nervous Albion fans is council leader Councillor Warren Morgan, who said: “It promises to be an amazing weekend for the city with the Albion bid for promotion, the start of Brighton Festival and the Fringe, and a forecast of fantastic weather as well

“While thousands of fans are lucky enough to have tickets and will be travelling north to cheer on the Albion at Middlesbrough, many more – myself included – will be watching on the big screen at the Amex, or at pubs and bars around the city.

“The Albion are the glue that holds the city together having brought Brighton and Hove together back in 1901, 95 years before the city was created.

“It’s hard to put an exact figure on how much the weekend will be worth to the city but, as a rough guide, we know that a busy weekend like the Brighton Marathon brings in an estimated £6million for the local economy.

“We hope everyone has a great weekend, whether they are taking in one of the festival events, supporting the Albion, soaking up the sun on the beach, or all three.”

With freezing temperatures still fresh in the memory from last week’s snow flurries, and the unsettled weather set to return on Monday, chairwoman of Brighton and Hove Tourism Alliance Soozie Campbell said: “I think this bit of sunshine is long overdue, so let’s hope plenty of people come to Brighton and Hove to enjoy it."