Windy
Wiltshire
(Party in the Park)
Bigger,
better and sold out
The
sensational soprano teenager Charlotte Church makes her second visit to
Swindon, pictured with organiser Andy Cotton
With Classical
Brit award winner teenage soprano sensation Charlotte Church performing
one of only three British concerts this year at the Classical Extravaganza,
and Brit Award winners STEPS at the Party in the Park, the two Wiltshire
Festival concerts have proved a huge hit.
"We expect 20,000 people to be at the Party, and around 10,000 at the
Classical Extravaganza, the most we've ever had," says organiser Andy
Cotton.
Since appearing at the Wiltshire Festival Swindon in 1999, Charlotte
Church has released a second album to follow her 'Voice of an Angel'
debut which has sold two million worldwide. In the Autumn she sang at
the Rugby World Cup and performed the Ford millennium anthem 'Wave Hello,'
the largest ever TV commercial, aired to 300 million homes around the
world. She also turned down invitations to sing for the Pope, President
Clinton and the Queen at the Dome on millennium night, so that she could
party with her family in Cardiff.
The prospect of Charlotte and world renowned bass baritone Willard White
singing the Porgy and Bess classic 'Summertime' which is in her repertoire
could make the Classical Extravaganza a historic occasion.
The irrepressible Jae Alexander will lead the English National Symphony
Orchestra and Maria Kesselman will draw the night to a close with a
traditional Last Night of the Proms finale, accompanied by a huge fireworks
display.
A balloon launch will take place at the beginning of the evening followed
by an aerial display by World War II aircraft to accompany Ron Goodwin's
Battle of Britain theme.
The Classical Extravaganza is sponsored by Motorola, which employs 2,800
people in Swindon, with support from Classic fm.
STEPS are centre stage for the Party in the Park on Sunday 27 August,
which is sponsored by GWR. But before their headline act at the end
of the day, a huge number of acts will strut their stuff.
Kicking off the afternoon at 4pm will be soul legend Edwin Starr with
his band The Team. He's been around for well over 30 years and will
really show the younger performers how to put on a stage act.
Chart busting bands The Vengaboys, Aussie duo Madison Avenue, Atomic
Kitten, garage pair Oxide and Neutrino, Fierce and Scooch will all be
performing to backing tracks. Swindon's own girl band Esensual get their
big break.
One of the few acts with performing musicians is Tony Hadley, the ex-Spandau
ballet heart throb who put on a stunning show at last year's Party.
The event is being televised by Fuji Television to be shown on NHK in
Japan. If you could not get a tickets for the Party, highlights will
also be broadcast on HTV on Sunday 3 September.
Apart from the music and the fireworks, the festival will feature
-
two
28 foot video screens displaying stage action, thirty per cent bigger
than last year
-
six
newly developed searchlights, each with 330 million candlepower
-
the
Royal Artillery parachute display team, aerial displays by a Hunter
jet and a Spitfire, and possibly a RAF Hercules on 25 August
-
displays
and collections by firefighters from Westlea fire station
-
the
Wiltshire Air Ambulance helicopter beaming pictures down to the
giant video screens at the Party
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