2,900 people attend Lancaster Hacienda Classical event

The Hacienda Classical event attracted 2,900 people into the park as the city basked in 23 Degree heat, making it the hottest day of the year so far.

Manchester Camerata performed dance classics such as You Got The Love, Ride on Time and Voodoo Ray alongside Hacienda DJs Graham Park and Mike Pickering.

There were guest performances too from Peter Hook from New Order and Rowetta from The Happy Mondays, while a light and laser show lit up the Ashton Memorial and the trees surrounding the stage.

People travelled from Manchester, Liverpool, Burnley, Carlisle and other parts of the North West to attend the event.

Attendees paid around £35 for a standard ticket, and £75 for a VIP ticket, which included food and a drink, and access to the Ashton Memorial and cafe.

Richard Dyer, from organisers Skiddle, said: “The event was brilliant, and a great thing for Lancaster. It was a great show from Manchester Camerata, and we were completely blessed with the weather.”

The organisation of the event faced criticism on social media the next day however.

People reported queues for the bar of more than a hour and a half, and problems getting into the venue when it opened at 4pm.

Richard said: “We know the bar was busy because we ran out of beer! We put in a queuing system which most bars don’t, but we made it as fair as possible. We’re going to take on board everybody’s feedback, but it’s a very challenging site, and there are a lot of people to please before it’s presented to the customers.

“The police were happy, the fire service were happy, and the council’s licensing department were happy with the way the event was run.”

Richard said he was now looking at other sites and other concepts for future events, but didn’t rule out another one at Williamson Park.

The event is the biggest of its kind to take place inside Williamson Park.

lHacienda Classical review – Page 18