The organisers of the Isle of Man Bay Festival have announced that on Sunday 20th June 2010, the festival marquee in Nobles Park, Douglas, will host two "unique" shows.
The afternoon show, billed as 'X Factor Meets Britain's Got Talent' for Father's Day, will feature contestants from both hit shows in a mix of music, dance and comedy.
Diversity, Leon Jackson, Ruth Lorenzo, George Sampson, Eoghan Quinn and Stavros Flatley will all appear, and there will be a further performance by a finalist from the current X Factor show: concertgoers will be able to vote for their favourite before the end of this November.
In the evening, the Festival will roll back the years for a 'Last Night in the Park Stonking 80s Party'.
Rick Astley, Boy George, Kim Wilde, Belinda Carlisle, Cutting Crew, Curiosity Killed the Cat and The Real Thing will serve up three and a half hours of back to back hits from their heydays.
The artists have been handpicked from the popular 'Here and Now' tour by organiser Jonathan Irving, who describes Sunday night as a chance to "dance yourself silly and sing yourself hoarse."
The line-ups for Friday 18th and Saturday 19th June have yet to be announced. It was recently publicised that Boyzone had been set to open the Festival but the tragic death of band member Stephen Gately has cast uncertainty over their future touring plans.
Undaunted, Mr Irving is confident that an equally high calibre alternative can be found, and has also promised that Saturday night will feature "an excellent A-list indie-rock band".
Tickets for the Sunday shows will go on sale at 8am on Monday 2nd November for those who have pre-registered, and at 8am the following day for the general public.
Ticket prices start at ?19.50 for the afternoon show, and ?39.50 for the evening, but there are savings to be made by purchasing combined tickets.
Mr Irving comments that he has sought to book acts with "the widest possible appeal" to make the Festival an inclusive experience for people of all ages.
Building on "the lessons learned" from 2007's Peel Bay Festival, he explains that the marquee will be enhanced by a wider stage, giant screens and more camera positions, but will have a reduced capacity of 7,000 (as opposed to 2007's Valhalla Marquee, which held over 10,000).
The smaller scale of the event, he emphasises, means that people will have to snap up their tickets quickly to make sure that they don't miss out on seeing their favourite artists and bands.
He has also confirmed that there will be an opportunity for local bands to showcase their talent and has suggested that there may be a 'battle of the bands' style contest to decide who goes forward to play the festival.
For more information, visit the Festival website.
