The Great Escape will be screened at the Light Cinema in Wisbech on Sunday March 24.

Wisbech Standard: The Great Escape will be screened at the Light Cinema in Wisbech on Sunday March 24.The Great Escape will be screened at the Light Cinema in Wisbech on Sunday March 24. (Image: Archant)

To celebrate the film’s 75th anniversary, Park Circus and Metro Goldwyn Mayer have partnered with the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, the Royal Air Force’s leading welfare charity.

‘The Great Escape with Dan Snow’, which takes place at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith, will feature a one-hour live show of music and conversation hosted by the historian and TV presenter.

It will then be streamed to hundreds of cinemas nationwide including the Light in Wisbech at 6pm.

Wisbech Standard: The Great Escape will be screened at the Light Cinema in Wisbech on Sunday March 24.The Great Escape will be screened at the Light Cinema in Wisbech on Sunday March 24. (Image: Archant)

The commemorative evening will feature Britain’s Got Talent’s The D-Day Darlings, who will perform songs from their new album ‘I’ll Remember You’, and a rare appearance of the original motorcycle ridden by Steve McQueen in that dramatic fence-jump scene.

Host Dan Snow will also hear from veterans of the escape and will explore the history and science behind the operation with renowned historian Paul Beaver and Dr. Hugh Hunt of the University of Cambridge.

The Great Escape is John Sturges’ dramatisation of the true story of a group of British, American and Canadian POWs who successfully escaped from Stalag Luft III in Upper Silesia in March 1944. The film, based on the book by Paul Brickhill and starring Steve McQueen as Captain Hilts, features performances from James Garner, Donald Pleasence and Richard Attenborough.

This anniversary event is presented by the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, as part of commemorations marking its centenary year.