Sligo gears up for €3m concert boost
Credit: Photo: James Connelly
With just days to go to one of the most spectacular music weekends of the summer, Sligo is gearing up for a massive boost of up to €3 million to the local economy as 30,000 fans from at home and abroad converge on Lissadell House for eagerly awaited concerts by Westlife and Leonard Cohen.
Local lads Westlife kickstart the Bank Holiday bonanza on Friday night with their first' Homecoming' appearance since playing Markievicz Park in 2003 and the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter follows up with two sold out concerts on Saturday and Sunday.
All available beds in Sligo and the surrounding areas are reportedly booked up as fans from all over Ireland, the U.K., Europe, Australia, Korea and the U.S. prepare to descend on the historic North Sligo venue for the three open air all-seated shows.
A Lissadell 'Fringe Festival' will add to the atmosphere and features a street party in O'Connell Street from 2p.m. to 5p.m. on Saturday and free music and entertainment throughout the weekend.
The General Manager of Fáilte Ireland North West, Mr. Paul McLoone, says the spin off from the concerts will be " absolutely huge."
"While there will be a direct spend on the events, the benefit to tourism and the local economy will definitely be more than €2 million," he confirmed.
Meanwhile, preparations are continuing at Lissadell as the countdown continues to the concerts.
Five 40 ton trucks delivered a 42 metre stage, a replica of that used by Westlife at Croke Park, on Monday as a thiry man crew began to assemble a structure which includes a huge lighting rig which will use in excess of 10,000 watts.
Six cameras will capture the band's live on stage performance and beam it to colossal high definition screens on either side of the stage.
Westlife's concert begins at 8.30p.m., with Cork native and Sligo based singer, Glen Cal, a brother-in-law of Gillian Filan, on stage at 7.00p.m. and Wonderland, featuring Jodie Albert, wife of Kian Egan, in support from 7.40p.m.
Leonard Cohen's concerts commence at 7.30p.m. with an interval at 8.45p.m. and the second half of the show at 9.10p.m. Gates open for each of the three concerts at 4.00p.m.
A special traffic management plan has been put in place for the weekend in conjunction with the Gardai and 'how to get there' advice has also been issued to fans (see Page 4).
As he looks forward to Friday night's concert, Westlife's Shane has promised the lads will "give it loads."
"My appeal to everybody is to enjoy themselves. To be the first band to play a concert at Lissadell is very special for us. We know it's an honour and we won't let anyone down," Shane said.
Lissadell House and Estate manager, Isobel Cassidy, is predicting "a magical weekend."
"There is just such a big bubble of excitement," she said.
- MICHAEL MORAN
