Madness and Boomtown Rats on cards for new Morecambe music festival

A major all-ticket music festival on Morecambe seafront is being planned as the town gears up for its biggest ever carnival.
Madness are in the frame to headline an all-ticket outdoor music festival in Morecambe.Madness are in the frame to headline an all-ticket outdoor music festival in Morecambe.
Madness are in the frame to headline an all-ticket outdoor music festival in Morecambe.

Pop legends Madness and The Boomtown Rats could be the headline acts for a 12 hour live music event in September 2017.

The event would be held on land formerly occupied by The Dome and prior to that, the Bubbles swimming centre and the Super Swimming Stadium.

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The area would be fenced off and circled by double decker buses to ensure only fans with tickets could see the concert.

Madness.Madness.
Madness.

Lancaster City Council has bid for £50,000 of Government cash to upgrade the site for outdoor concerts.

Capacity could be increased to hold 20,000 people.

Organiser David Brayshaw said he has booked the arena for a ticketed music festival in September 2017.

It would run under the banner of ‘Go Morecambe’ and will happen if the council gets Government funding to expand the capacity.

Madness.Madness.
Madness.
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Mr Brayshaw, who also chairs the committee who run this weekend’s Morecambe Carnival, said he had already spoken to the Boomtown Rats and made enquiries about Madness.

He also said tickets could be sold at £40.

Money to upgrade the site could come from the £3m Coastal Revival Fund which aims to unlock the economic potential of hard-to-tackle buildings, facilities and amusements in seaside resorts in order to secure jobs.

Last year, Coun Darren Clifford, Lancaster City Council’s leading light for tourism, said The Dome site was “a natural amphitheatre”.

“We could have our own Glyndbourne (opera festival) in Morecambe or rock bands. We hope we’ll get support from the Government to do basic improvements and get the best out of the site.”

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The land has been clear since The Dome entertainment venue was demolished in 2011 due to council cutbacks.

A spokesman for Lancaster City Council said: “The council submitted a bid for funding from the Government’s £3m Coastal Revival Fund in September 2015.

“The bid for up to £50,000 was to help fund the regeneration of the former Dome/Bubbles site for leisure and recreational purposes.

“In December last year, the council was informed that it had been unsuccessful but was invited to resubmit a further bid for this financial year.

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“It is hoped that our second bid will make the grade this time around and we expect to have had news on this by September this year.

“Any work funded by the scheme will need to be completed by the end of March 2017.”