4:43am UK, Thursday December 11, 2003

Thousands of Lord of the Rings fans are expected to turn out in London tonight for the British premiere of the Tolkien trilogy's final instalment.

Leicester Square will be transformed into Middle Earth when the cast attend the screening of Return of the King.

Lord of the Rings in London

Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom and Sir Ian McKellen are among the stars expected to appear on the red carpet to herald the release of the third and last film.

The first two instalments in the trilogy made close to £620m and this one is being tipped to make even more.

The critics are now wondering whether Return of the King could win the ultimate prize - best picture at next year's Oscars.

The fantasy adventure is even longer than the first two films, coming in at three hours and 11 minutes.

Director Peter Jackson has described it as his favourite of all the three films, which are based on JRR Tolkien's books.

Last week's world premiere in New Zealand attracted more than 100,000 people to cheer the film's stars.

The country has been consumed by Hobbit-mania ever since director Jackson, himself a New Zealander, decided to film the trilogy there.