A WORLD Cup fan park for up to 11,000 spectators will be created in Bristol's historic Queen Square, showing live matches on a giant screen.

It will be one of only two such parks in the country and is being set up at a cost of £80,000.

Work on building the screen – measuring around 24 feet by 13 feet – at the Welsh Back end of the square Queen Square is due to start today ready for the opening game between South Africa and Mexico on Friday.

The city fan park is the idea of motoring giant Hyundai, which has worked in partnership with Bristol City Council.

There will be no charge to go into the park and fans will be let in through gates an hour before kick-off.

Alcohol will be on sale in the park but no one will be allowed to take their own in. No dogs will be permitted. Fireworks and flares are also banned and stewards will be patrolling the site.

All the England games will be screened live as well as the last 16 matches, the quarter finals, semi-finals and the final. The pick of the opening group games will also be shown.

Up to 11,000 people are expected to pack into the square for England's opening match against the USA on Saturday evening. City council leaders have been working with bosses at Hyundai for the last few

weeks on the fan park plan. They opted for Queen Square above other sites including Ashton Court and Millennium Square.

Councillor Simon Cook, Bristol City Council Deputy Leader and cabinet member for culture, sport and capital projects, said: "Our fan park site in Queen Square brings the world's greatest sporting event right in to the heart of the city.

"It gives families and friends the chance to come together to watch and cheer England on."

For England matches all of Queen Square will be used. For other games the fan park will take up half of it.

Mr Cook said: "The city council has worked hard behind the scenes to secure this Hyundai Fan Park and we're delighted with the result.

"Bristol is one of only two cities in the UK to offer this amazing fan park opportunity to World Cup enthusiasts in the city and wider region.

"Our success underpins our inclusion as one of England 2018's candidate host cities and reflects our growing reputation for cultural and sporting events."

Bristol City Council will be responsible for the stewarding and safety and expects to spend up to £80,000 on setting up the fan park.

The technical side of the project – including the huge high definition screen – will be covered by Hyundai.

Stalls selling food, soft drinks and alcohol will be set up around the sides of the park which will be called the Hyundai Fan Park Bristol.

The car firm is also behind similar parks in Hamburg, Dresden, Marseilles, Florence, Madrid, Porto and Prague but the only other one in Britain will be in Manchester.

The number of games being screened at the fan park has been limited following concerns from local businesses.

Mr Cook said: "We have been consulting local businesses and there has been some about match screenings in the daytime.

"As a result we will not be covering all the matches, but mainly the evening and weekend fixtures and, of course, all the England games."

Tony Whitehorn, managing director Hyundai Motor UK, said: "Bristol is a very vibrant city and we are delighted to sponsor the Fan Park. We are the official sponsors of the World Cup and this is bringing it to the people of Bristol."

Stephen Wray, partnership director and Bristol's lead officer for England's 2018 bid to host the World Cup, said: "Hosting the Hyundai Fan Park shows Bristol at its best.

"It is very much a public celebration of our love of the game and it's something the whole city can be proud of.

"We have a strong, experienced team working to deliver this exciting month-long event and have worked with our partners, including Richmond Event Management, the police and local businesses to make sure people who come along to watch the games have the best possible World Cup experience."

There is already a smaller screen in nearby Millennium Square, which can cater for up to 2,500 people, where matches will also be shown.

A big screen was previously put up in Queen Square in 2005 for the Ashes.