Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Will The London Olympics Have Us All Racing To Gigs All Around The Country?


This summer the world's top athletes and millions of exited spectators will descend on London for the biggest sporting spectacle of the year. But will the world's top music acts be following closely behind...?


Coca Cola Present 5 Torch Relay Concerts


The Olympic Torch Relay will see the famous Olympic Flame be carried from Land's End on a tour of the UK for 70 days, ending at the Olympic Stadium in London. As part of the journey Coca Cola are hosting a series of music gigs in; Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham and finally London's Hyde Park the day before the Olympic Opening Ceremony. I'm going to go into a bit of detail about who will be performing at the gigs in London (because it's the biggest event) and Glasgow (because it's where I live and lets face it it's the only one I would actually consider going to). But if you will like to know who will be gracing the stage at the other 3 events check out BBC.co.uk. 

London, 26th July 2012, Hyde Park      
  • Headline act: Dizzee Rascal
  • The Wanted
  • You Me At Six
  • Eliza Doolittle
  • Mark Ronson etc.

Glasgow, 8th June 2012, George Square
  • Emeli SandĂ©
  • Eliza Doolittle
  • General Fiasco etc.
                                                                                     Watch Video above to see when the
                                                                                       Olympic Flame will be near you!

Tickets for the Glasgow gig are FREE and chosen by ballot! If you want to have a chance of attending SIGN UP HERE by 10pm April 11th.

Personal I think the line ups lack a bit of (in the words of Simon Cowell) "star quality." Considering the 2012 Olympics is meant to be the biggest event in the UK and one of the biggest events in the world this year, the line up is underwhelming to say the least. The acts attending the Hyde Park gig are much better than the other 4 (which is reflected in the fact that you have to pay £15 at ticket whereas the other 4 gigs tickets are free and chosen by ballot). However the weaker link up in the other 4 cities is not doing much for the argument that the Olympics is about all of the UK and not just London. All in all I think the Olympic organisers could have signed up a few more notable acts in order to make these concerts a greater success! (I actually think the concerta are a great way to get the whole country involved, if they had better, more appealing acts.)

Closing Ceremony Concert
There will also be a concert held in London's Hyde Park on the last day of the Olympics to coincide with the Closing Ceremony. Blur have been announced as the headline act for the gig and will be supported by New Order and The Specials. There will also be screens set up in Hyde Park for attendees to enjoy the Closing Ceremony itself. I think it's a good idea to stream the Ceremony into the park because it will provide it with more of a sense of actually being part of the Olympics and will make the concert more special for ticket holders. I will reserve judgement on the line up for now. I do think Blur are a good choice to headline the show, however I just hope Olympic organisers get other popular (and preferably British) acts involved.

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