Garth Brooks is “nervous” ahead of his five gigs at Croke Park, his promoter has revealed.
The venue is just days away from welcoming the US singer to GAA headquarters. Organisers revealed Brooks has spent an “obscene” amount of money building his own stage at the stadium – constructed specifically for Irish fans and will not be used anywhere else on his tour.
Promoter Peter Aiken said: “It’s obscene. He’s very aware of just how big of an event this is. This isn’t just a concert, this is a big event.
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“Nobody has ever sold five nights at Croke Park. No supergroup could do five nights. There’s never been a band or an artist that could come in here and say, ‘We could’ve sold five nights’.
“He’s broken every rule and he knows he’s playing to 400,000 people. So maybe the fact he did the stadium tour over the last three years and a lot of people have seen it or gone to it, maybe he’s saying that he wants to put on something special.
“The greatest special effect of any artist is the songs.” Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Aiken Promotions event controller Jim Clarke said: “It is going to be an extravaganza.
“This equipment, a lot of it has been flown directly to Ireland from America. It is a one-off. It’s not part of the established tour. So everything we’re doing here we’re doing for the first time.”
The 60-year-old country music star is due to play five concerts at Croke Park over the course of 10 days, with the first show this Friday night. But Mr Aiken admitted Brooks was nervous ahead of his shows – admitting he wants to put on the best concerts for fans after such a long wait.
He said: “It’s been such a saga. It’s well documented and now it is coming to a conclusion. He’s thrilled. He’s excited and he’s nervous. The expectations are so big. But at the end of the day it is 14 people on stage singing. Like, what else can he do?
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“It won’t be rubbish because he has such great songs but I always worry when we say ‘spectacular show’ because it is spectacular looking but what is going to make this is the audience. The crowd will go mental. That is what we want.”
Around 400,000 people are expected to attend the gigs, with all 32 counties represented and at least 5% of ticket holders coming from outside Ireland. Mr Aiken said: “There is a whole other Ireland outside of Dublin.
“When we had Bruce Springsteen here and we had the Rolling Stones here… more than 50% of our audience was from Dublin. This time it’s around 18% from Dublin. We did the breakdown of ticket sales. Say there’s 62,000 people living in Monaghan, 18,000 people are coming to Garth.
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“There’s nearly 100,000 coming from the North and including Donegal. There’s 20,000 coming from overseas. We sold tickets in Afghanistan, we sold tickets in Palestine, Israel. We sold tickets everywhere. There are countries I’ve not heard of.”
Due to the large numbers of revellers, organisers are warning people to plan their journey to and from Croke Park, as there is only one car park close to the venue that holds 400 cars, and traffic restrictions will be in place near the venue. People aged under 14 will not be allowed on to the standing/pitch area, and bags must be less than an A4 size and will be searched on the way into the venue.
Attendees are also asked to double-check the date on their tickets and are reminded that the show starts at 7.30pm, with gates open from 5pm. Croke Park bosses said the cut-off point for Brooks to be off stage is 10.30pm but he will be ready to perform at 7.30pm, suggesting each show will last almost three hours each night
Garda Superintendent Martin Mooney said there would be a “soft cordon” in place around the venue from 10.30am on the day of each concert where residents and businesses in the area will be accommodated.
From 3pm a hard cordon will be in place. Supt Mooney added: “I’d ask concert-goers to be mindful of the residents, to be respectful as well, too.
“There will be zero tolerance for any person drinking on the streets, in particular urinating on the streets, littering, antisocial behaviour and illegal parking as well.”
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