Two sellout north pop concerts attract crowds totalling 31,000

More than 19,000 expected to see Rod Stewart in Inverness

More than 31,000 music fans will flock to two sellout concerts in the Highlands during the summer.

By yesterday morning only three tickets were left for rock legend Rod Stewart’s gig at Inverness Caley Thistle’s stadium on July 17, where more than 19,000 people will attend – outselling megastar Elton John.

And Westlife’s open-air concert at Cawdor Castle is also proving a runaway success, with more than 12,000 expected on August 28.

Organisers said they were still trying to arrange for the release of more tickets for both events, but warned that only a handful of extra seats would be available.

Les Kidger, of promoters CK Events, said: “At midnight on Friday, we had three tickets left on Ticketmaster for Rod Stewart.

“We think we might manage to get about 100 more released next week. That will mean that there will be more than 19,000 people attending the concert.

“When we announced the concert in December we knew there would be a lot of demand and we anticipated a sellout. But it’s great to see so much interest.”

Rod Stewart’s gig is the second to be held at the Caley Thistle stadium and will beat the record crowd for Rocketman Elton John.

Ticket sales for the Inverness concert have proved the fastest-selling of Stewart’s UK tour. D&E Coaches will provide a shuttle bus service from the city centre to the stadium.

Mr Kidger added that there were 52 tickets left for Westlife who are appearing at the first concert staged at Cawdor Castle.

Ayrshire duo the MacDonald Brothers and all-girl quintet Wonderland will support the Irish stars.

He said: “We are trying to finalise the layout of the gig and may be able to get a few more tickets released. There will be more than 12,000 people at the concert.”

The Macdonald Brothers will perform with the Stars From the X-Factor show at Cawdor the night before.

And Mr Kidger said that tickets for that gig were also selling well.

It is thought that around 6,000 fans will see performances by infamous twins Jedward, finalist Stacey Solomon, Danyl Johnson, Jamie “Afro” Archer and Ruth Lorenzo.

Mr Kidger added: “It’s a different audience for this gig, but will have a reduced audience from Westlife. It gives us the chance to test the infrastructure.”

Fuente: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk