Riot is relived in Queen Square

Bawdy language helps to tell the riot story

A virtual riot will be held in Queen Square over the next three weeks to mark a historical event from 1831.

Anecdotes about the riot and facts from the time when Bristol was full of strife will tell how citizens clashed with Dragoon guards in the city centre.

The experience is part of a wireless experiment run by Mobile Bristol.

Participants wear headphones and carry hi-tech equipment as they roam through the square setting off audio clips which tell the riot experience.

The riots occurred when thousands of Bristolians took to the streets in revolt against the defeat of the Reform Bill in the House of Lords.

The project is funded for two years with a grant

At the height of the unrest almost all the buildings in Queen Square were burnt to the ground.

Hundreds of protesters died, almost 90 were sent to prison and four were hanged.

What modern day participants hear as they walk around has been painstakingly researched by writers Liz Crow and Ralph Hoyte and voiced by a cast of actors.

The result is a trip back in time to the reign of William IV, complete with Bristolian accents and bawdy language.

There are 34 zones, each with three sound bites which range from Brunel's reaction to the riot, to a woman being thrown from a pub window, and sexual propositions from newly-freed prisoners.

Participants wear a back pack which contains an iPAQ palmtop computer which receives information from global positioning satellites and a wi-fi network.

The sound files, corresponding to where the visitor is standing, are then played out to headphones.

Mobile Bristol, which is behind the project, is a professionally co-ordinated team of business and academic researchers from Hewlett Packard, the University of Bristol, UWE and digital technology firm The Appliance Studio.

The project is funded for two years with a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry.