ELTON JOHN is to play the first concert at the revamped Thomond Park in Limerick.
The singer, who has sold upwards of 200 million records, will perform on June 6th next year at the rugby stadium, which was recently re-opened after a €40 million redevelopment.
Some 20,000 tickets are to be sold for the event. Announcing details of the concert in Limerick yesterday, Peter Aiken of Aiken Promotions said it was an opportunity to showcase Thomond Park to a new audience.
"A sizeable portion of the people who are going to be here will possibly never have been to Limerick or Thomond Park before so it's very exciting," he said. "People from Belfast, Derry, Cork, England, America and Europe love Elton John and go to see him everywhere in the world. This should be a huge boost for the local economy," he said.
Tickets will cost €79.95 for general admission, rising to €116.25 for the best seats. They will go on sale at 9am next Monday through Ticketmaster and other outlets nationwide.
The Limerick Co-Ordination Office, a body set up by public and private stakeholders in 2003 to promote the city, welcomed yesterday's announcement.
"It's great for Limerick that we have an international star like Elton John playing the first ever concert in Thomond Park," said spokeswoman Laura Ryan.
"Such a high-profile event is sure to bring a lot of visitors to the city and is a welcome boost to the region. We hope this is the first of many successful concerts in Thomond Park, a stadium that the whole city is immensely proud of."