Music boss Melvin Benn has said he’s already planning next year's Marlay Parks festival – as he confirms almost a quarter of million revellers will descend on the Dublin venue at the end of the month.
Revellers will descend on Rathfarnham’s Marlay Park over the coming weeks for seven headline shows, with a capacity of 40,000 for each night.
The summer shows will kick off on June 20 with Arctic Monkeys followed by two Dermot Kennedy dates on June 23 and 24. The Weeknd will play on June 28, then Def Leppard and Motley Crue on July 4.
Festival Republic MD, Melvin said that while fans are in for a “real treat” for this year’s concerts, he confirmed he is already planning next year’s festival line up.
He told us: “We’re already talking about acts for 2024 when 2023 hasn’t even happened. What you find is The Weeknd is one of the biggest acts on the planet and he's coming to Marlay Park.
"His diary tends to get planned at least 18 months in advance so we have to have those conversations in that time in order to secure the dates so they want to work in Ireland, they adore being in Dublin. It is a great music market, but we have to be very, very organised and very planned way, way in advance.”
Speaking at a joint MCD press conference on Wednesday, Melvin said music fans will be in for a treat this summer.
He added: “Seven nights…. It's pretty fantastic. The first concert here was in 2001. It definitely doesn’t seem very long ago.
“Arctic Monkeys is a treat beyond belief. They headlined Leeds Festival, and the show was just spectacular.
“Dermot Kennedy… two nights. He headlined Electric Picnic last year to an adorned crowd. It’s going to be a great two nights.
“The Weeknd playing… coming into Marlay Park especially to Ireland. I’m really looking forward to that.
“Longitude just two nights to accommodate all the other concerts.
“July 4 Independence Day, Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe will make a great end to the season.”
Almost a quarter of a million people are set to descend on Marlay Park for its week-long concerts.
But organisers have urged attendees to play their route in advance and leave two hours to get to the venue. It comes after fans complained on social media last year of extraordinary delays leaving the venue.
Therese Langan of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council defended the furore, saying the South Dublin council didn’t receive many complaints to their hotline, compared to what was seen on social media.
She said: “We didn’t get a huge amount of complaints on our own hotline and those views are the minority, not the majority.”
She said changes had been made to the traffic system with public transport widely available and the car park has been extended.
Melvin said it will be amazing to see thousands of people coming in and out of the park, which benefits the local economy.
Melvin said: “We spent a lot of time talking to local residents in order to mitigate the impact. If you have 40,000 people coming into the area, obviously that impact is there so we work really hard to mitigate it.
“We get a lot of volunteers. It’s a great way for community organisations.
“We’ve got GAA clubs up and down the country doing festival work in order to raise money for their associations.”
People will not be permitted to bring their own alcohol into the venue and all bags cannot be bigger than an A4 size. Ticket-holders are advised to download their tickets in advance and to check the weather forecast.
“Download the ticket before you get to the park. Make sure it is on your phone. There is guarantee of any network or Wi-Fi service at the gate,” Melvin said.
There will be a Park and Ride shuttle service from Dundrum Town Centre and Custom House Quay. Book in advance is advised.
The promoters also revealed they have an events app, which goes live this weekend, called evntz.ie.
“That will give everyone the opportunity to download every single thing you need.”
The app has been a “great success” in the UK at their concerts, said Melvin.
The press conference heard how Garda checks will also be on route and punters are advised to allow themselves an extra two hours travel time to and from the event.
Superintendent Tom Gormley of An Garda Síochána Tomas Gormley, said that while Garda resources will be stretched over the week
“Building on previous feedback, we’re sure that we will police this event effectively and everyone that comes will enjoy themselves.
“We are very aware of the effects these events have on the local community. We want to stress and reinforce that what they want, they will be facilitated in any way that we can facilitate them. “
He asked music goers to keep an eye on social media for transport updates.
“It will be very well documented.
“There will be a big policing operation in place, which will impact our policing commitments around the rest of the district, but I just want to ensure that we will have enough numbers here to ensure that everyone arrives safely and gets home safely.”
But a drug testing initiative that featured at Electric Picnic last year will not be set up in Marlay Park this year.
Brought in under the HSE’s Safer Nightlife Programme, it involves the voluntary use of surrender bins for illegal substances. Situated in the event’s medical tent, the illegal drugs can then be tested off-site with the necessary warnings then issued.
Melvin said: “Principally, it was from seizures made and that gave the testers and therefore the medics a little bit of preparation in terms of what might be around,” he said.
“It gives us the opportunity to talk and decide whether we need to put a message up on screen to highlight particular issues with drugs. It’s a HSE initiative – it's obviously not my initiative.
“But we would very much support it and very much work in partnership with the HSE. It isn’t scheduled for here (Marlay) but it’s the HSE that takes that decision. They choose the shows they are going to be at. I just work alongside them, I don’t make the decisions or the request. I imagine it’s just the staffing resource, it’s an expensive thing to undertake.
"It's an important thing to undertake and there are those that argue that it is a cost that shouldn't be undertaken because it is not emergency care.
"But that is a decision for the HSE, not for us but they are limited on resources, and they just have to pick the shows that are most important.”
But Melvin confirmed that the scheme will return to Electric Picnic this year.
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