Westlife’s Farewell is highlight of SECC’s busiest year

Action-packed 2012 will be boost for city

WESTLIFE FAREWELL IS HIGHLIGHT OF SECC’S BUSIEST YEAR
By GORDON THOMSON

GLASGOW’s top conference and concert venue is set for its busiest ever year which will generate hundreds of millions of pounds for the city.

The curtain is set to rise on an action-packed 2012 at the SECC when it hosts the start of six years of major medical conferences while the curtain will come down on Westlife in the summer when the Irish boys give their final live performance on stage before splitting up the band.

The Clydeside hub is gearing up to make another financial splash with a string of events to underpin Glasgow’s growing reputation as a global venue for conferences and concerts.

Music fans are being served another year of top acts with live performances from a range of artists from Snow Patrol and Florence & The Machine to The Wanted as well as the Strictly Come Dancing live tour over four nights next month.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds perform in the city for the first time when the SECC hosts a sold-out gig on Friday, February 24.

But there will be tears in the summer when the venue stages the last ever live performances of Westlife, the Irish boyband that’s amassed 26 top 10 hits, 11 smash-hit albums and collectively sold 44 million copies around the world.

Band members Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan have decided to call it a day after performing together for 14 years.

Their final tour launches in Newcastle and ends in Glasgow with three shows on June 16, 17 and 19.

Up to 40 exhibitions staged by the consumer and trade sectors will also be staged at the SECC throughout the year including the new Holiday & Travel show and Fishing Exhibition as well as Girls Day Out, Scottish Caravan & Outdoor Leisure Show, Model Rail Scotland, the Scottish Wedding Show, Hobbycrafts & Creative Stitches and the Scottish Bike Show.

Scott Taylor, chief executive of the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said the riverside venue, along with Glasgow’s universities, had injected an extra £130m into the city’s economy last year and praised the SECC for making a “significant” contribution.

Credit/Source: www.eveningtimes.co.uk | Westlife.GR