Strathclyde Park ready to go Retro

Aug 28 2008 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

WITH less than a week to go until Europe’s hottest retro music festival hits Lanarkshire, locals will be aware of a flurry of activity surrounding Strathclyde Country Park.

Retrofest – which takes place at the park this weekend and is supported by North Lanarkshire Council – is set to be a truly spectacular event, with performances from stars from the 80s, such as Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Kajagoogoo, The Bangles and Boy George.

Festival organisers started work on putting the site together last Friday, (August 22) and have been hard at work ever since.

The festival site will contain: 10 miles of cable, 1.5 miles of fencing, 60 tonnes of sand for the Club Tropicana Beach, toilet provision for 10,000 people and enough power to sustain a community of 10,000.

Retrofest organiser Bradley Snelling said: “It’s fantastic to finally be on site at Strathclyde Country Park. We’ve been planning the festival for a year now and it’s great to see it starting to take shape.

“We’re really excited to be here in Lanarkshire for the second Retrofest festival. It’s great to have the local community so well represented with acts such as Laura Fletcher and Adriana, as well as all the people working on site. We hope that the local people enjoy having us here as much as we like being here.”

Councillor Jim McCabe, Leader of North Lanarkshire Council, said: “It’s been a while since the area hosted an event of this scale and there is a real buzz of excitement and anticipation as we watch the park being transformed in the run-up to Retrofest.

“We are looking forward to a fantastic weekend of music and entertainment and welcome visitors and residents alike as Strathclyde Park is reinstated as a major festival venue once again.”