Lancashire’s Highest Point Festival has revealed two new headliners for its line-up, as it prepares to return to its 54-acre home in Williamson Park this summer.
The festival has revealed that Grammy award-winning chart-toppers Clean Bandit are set to perform the headline slot on Friday night, followed by rock legends Kaiser Chiefs on Saturday.
The Lancashire event, which lays claim to the title of being the county’s biggest open-air music festival, has already confirmed music royalty and former ‘The Verve’ frontman Richard Ashcroft as its third headliner.
Further announcements revealed by Highest Point today include support slots from the likes of Basement Jaxx, Sigala, Example, Brit Nominee Not3s, Low Steppa, as well as performances from breakout stars Mae Muller and Mimi Webb.
Revellers can also look forward to appearances from Horse Meat Disco, SASASAS, Shy FX, Sub Focus, Turno, DJ & producer Emily Nash, Lancaster natives Lowes, Judge Jules, Luke Una, Charlie Tee and local hero Matt Thiss plus indie favourites Reverend and the Makers, The Lottery Winners and The Sherlocks.
Bringing a heavy dose of nostalgia, Escape Classics, Mr Wilsons Second Liners, 80s V 90s and Funkademia promise to wow crowds.
Elsewhere, festival favourites The Cuban Brothers will return once again with their outrageous comedy performances.
During the 2022 festival, guests can expect to see a huge variety of artists across multiple stages whilst enjoying regional street food and craft beer on-site.
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New additions to the festival this year include the Not-tober beer hall, a new area of the festival which will feature an immersive bingo experience with rave intervals, dance-offs and audience participation, karaoke, drag acts & more.
There will also be a new drinks masterclass area, a bigger stage area at The Woods, plus more bars and more toilets.
The next wave of tickets for the festival go on sale this Friday at 9am and can be bought through Skiddle. This year the festival will take place between Thursday 12 and Saturday, 14 May 2022
Full weekend tickets start at £135 for an adult, or £115 for a two-day ticket, whilst individual day ticket prices start from £42.50.
The setting for the festival could very well be one of the most beautiful event sites in the UK, with enchanting woodland, and breathtaking views over Morecambe Bay and the Lake District fells and mountains.
The park is also home to Lancaster’s most iconic building, the Ashton Memorial, which dominates the city’s skyline at around 150 feet tall.
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Jamie Scahill, co-founder of the festival said, “It was amazing to be able to host the festival last September after two years off, the crowd was amazing and we had such incredible feedback.
“Now we’re back to our usual festival weekend in May, and we have another huge line up heading for Lancaster.
“We can’t wait for the festival season to kick off!’In 2021 the festival welcomed 35,000 ticket-holders for four days of fun-filled musical performances from some of the music industry’s biggest names.”
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Olivia Dean at Albert Hall – star stuns in every way in Manchester
Abbie Bartlett
24-year-old neo soul singer Olivia Dean was in Manchester last night performing her Mercury prize-nominated album effortlessly with a voice and style made for the stage.
Fans of the star have watched her go from strength to strength over the past year, from being nominated for three Brits, performing at Coachella and now preparing for this year’s Glastonbury festival.
As someone who frequents gigs like they’re going out of fashion, it’s a bold statement but I think this may be one of the best I’ve ever experienced, and Olivia Dean can only be described being a star.
Before we dive into the performance, it’s only fair to take a minute to shoutout what an incredible venue for music the Albert Hall is. The former Methodist hall projects and echos acoustics perfectly and the raised stage and balcony area mean everyone in the building has a good view.
It’s no surprise that given her recent success the show at the Albert Hall was a complete sell-out, appearing on stage in a stunning floor-length silk dress the sea of fans filled the venue with admiring applause.
With a seven-piece band behind her, the star jumped straight into an atmospheric UFO before a cheery ‘How are we Manchester?’ and raising a can of Red Stripe. She quickly follows with Ok Love You Bye – a track that gets the whole crowd singing along and contemplating their past love decisions (maybe that last bit was just me).
The singer seamlessly glided through her set with ease, tambourine in hand, wowing fans with gorgeous melodies and relatable lyrics.
Gracefully sitting at the piano the room fell to silence as we heard Everybody’s Crazy and ICould Be a Florist, I’d predict I wasn’t the only person crying at this point.
As the evening rolled on and the songs kept coming the genuine talent Olivia has, not just as a singer but as a lyricist, had the crowd hooked on her every word. Of course she ends with Dive, the standout track from the album that perfectly depicts how it feels to fall in love.
Olivia Dean 2024 setlist
UFO
Ok Love You Bye
Echo
Danger
Cross My Mind
Be My Own Boyfriend
What Am I Gonna Do on Sundays?
No Man
Messy
Touching Toes
Everybody’s Crazy
I Could Be a Florist
Ladies Room
Reason to Stay
The Hardest Part
Carmen
Saying her goodbyes with a ‘I’ve had such a lovely evening’ and telling the crowd how happy she is to be back home in the UK after recent shows in America.
Experiencing Olivia Dean at Albert Hall felt genuinely special, the star is destined for a life time of deserved fame but her voice was made to be experiences in an intimate venue. The opportunity to enjoy her talent in such a perfect venue was nothing short of a divine evening.
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2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity
Danny Jones
Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.
This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.
As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.
Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.
The 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon was a spectacular day for the city and its economy.
Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie.
Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.
Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.
The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.
Together you have raised over £3.7 million for charitable causes, adding even more meaning to those 26.2 miles 💕 Well done and thank you to all those who fundraised and donated! 🌟Tag us in those charity top pictures from last weekend 😍😍#ManchesterMarathonpic.twitter.com/5gsi6NtFzB
This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.
This was a 20% increaseon 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.
With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons.