The VLT LBG Redshift Survey - I. Clustering and dynamics of approximate to 1000 galaxies at z approximate to 3

We present the initial imaging and spectroscopic data acquired as part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) VIMOS Lyman-break galaxy Survey. UBR (or UBVI) imaging covers five approximate to 36 x 36 arcmin(2) fields centred on bright z > 3 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), allowing approximate to 21 000 2 <z <3.5 galaxy candidates to be selected using the Lyman-break technique. We performed spectroscopic follow-up using VLT VIMOS, measuring redshifts for 1020 z > 2 Lyman-break galaxies and 10 z > 2 QSOs from a total of 19 VIMOS pointings. From the galaxy spectra, we observe a 625 +/- 510 km s(-1) velocity offset between the interstellar absorption and Lyman a emission-line redshifts, consistent with previous results. Using the photometric and spectroscopic catalogues, we have analysed the galaxy clustering at z approximate to 3. The angular correlation function, w(theta), is well fitted by a double power law with clustering scalelength, r(0) = 3.19(-0.54)(+0.32) h(-1) Mpc and slope gamma = 2.45 for r