Stadium gigs showed city in whole new Light

Mar 17 2010 By Gary Hutchinson, The Journal

LAST summer saw Sunderland's Stadium of Light host the opening nights of Take That's Circus Live Tour as well as a major Oasis gig.

Almost 160,000 music fans flocked to the city over a six-day period, boosting the economy by more than £3m in terms of tourism-related revenue.

The concerts demonstrated how the football club and the city, together with key agencies in the region, can pool resources, knowledge and skills to deliver major projects that benefit us all.

The club and the city are intrinsically linked. When one prospers so does the other.

And there is no better example of this partnership in action than Sunderland’s successful campaign to become a host city as part of England’s 2018/22 FIFA World Cup™ bid.

Club and city worked hand in hand tirelessly over 12 months to produce a bid that was widely praised by football’s governing bodies for its quality.

And should England be awarded the honour of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event in 2018/22 then Sunderland and the wider North East region will enjoy huge long-term benefits from being showcased on a global scale. After the success of the Take That and Oasis shows, the club and the city’s reputation as a destination for major events has been significantly enhanced.

Other events are already in the pipeline. Tens of thousands of visitors flock to the city on match days, but the concerts have brought a whole new audience to Sunderland. By continuing to work together and maximising every opportunity, the club and city hope to be welcoming many of these visitors back on a regular basis.

Sunderland’s credentials have been cemented in the minds of the major concert promoters – something that the club and the city are immensely proud of.

Gary Hutchinson, group catering and events manager at the North East Chamber of Commerce