Laura Bagshaw An on-line campaign to bring Channel 4's Pop Beach concert back to Great Yarmouth is winning strong support.More than 1,400 people have put their names to a petition on social networking site Facebook, urging organisers to think again about hosting the concert on the resort's sandy sweep.
Laura Bagshaw
An on-line campaign to bring Channel 4's Pop Beach concert back to Great Yarmouth is winning strong support.
More than 1,400 people have put their names to a petition on social networking site Facebook, urging organisers to think again about hosting the concert on the resort's sandy sweep.
Yesterday, having spoken to the Mercury, organisers Henry's House said they would raise the issue with Channel 4 bosses who launched the event in Yarmouth five years ago but switched to Weston-Super-Mare in north Somerset.
The massive pop event, which counted Girls Aloud, Blue and Dannii Minogue among performers attracted 30,000 revellers and was judged a massive success.
Now James Stubbins, 22, hopes his on-line petition will force a rethink, especially given the resort's stunning new look following a multi million pound makeover.
Administration assistant James, from Thetford, said: “I have always come to Yarmouth for holidays and I went to Pop Beach in 2003 and 2004. I always expecting it would come back to Yarmouth but it never has. I thought I would start a campaign to get it back in Yarmouth for 2009.
“It is a great holiday destination and it brought thousands of people to the area. I think having an event like this in Yarmouth would make it stand out and with the amount of money which has been spent on the seafront it would be good to get something like this.”
James often comes to Yarmouth for a weekend with his wife Samantha and said he did travel to Weston-Super-Mare one year to see the concert. “It took us four hours to get there and I don't think I would make the journey again,” he said.
James added: “It would be great to get the event back to where it started.”
Graham Plant, cabinet member to regeneration and tourism, said getting T4 on the Beach -as it became known - back to Yarmouth would be a “major boost” for tourism.
He said: “They are very welcome to come back to Yarmouth. We have held the event before and could do so again.”
After speaking to the Mercury organisers Henry's House said they would raise the issue at a meeting with Channel 4 due to be held yesterday .
To support the return of Yarmouth's Pop Beach visit www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16709666476
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