WEYMOUTH'S popular Quayside Festival has been given the go ahead to return to the harbourside this Bank Holiday weekend, delighted organisers have announced - although numbers are limited to 500.
The event will be headlined by star of ITV's The Voice, Lauren Bannon AKA Lloren.
The festival will take place on Saturday and Sunday August 28-29 on Custom House Quay, hosted by The Rendezvous nightclub.
Other acts to grace the outdoor stage include The Leggomen, Chief Lazarus, The Brotherhood, Stereoironics, Skimmity Hitchers, Orange Street, The Undecided, Mad4Animals and King Hammond Band.
This year the free event will be restricted in numbers to avoid large crowds due to the number of visitors in the town and harbour pedestrianisation.
A spokesman for the festival said: "For a good two weeks we have been working very hard with the council to be able to get Quayside Music Festival approved and signed off.
"Today we had a great news that we can now go ahead but we do have to tell you that the outside area will be restricted to 500 people in outside area.
"Due to the new layout of the harbourside and the pedestrianisation and the extra footfall in town from the staycation period we have worked closely with our council to make sure that we minimise any potential large gatherings.
"This festival remains free entry but please understand we will have to control the numbers in and out so there will be a new layout of entry points. We will continue to work with the local authorities to make sure that we can bring you this free event that has become the biggest event on any bank holiday in Weymouth."
Now in its 14th year, the festival came about to replace the much-missed Trawler Race Day, and has won several awards since it started in 2008.
- READ MORE: 'It would be a sad end for Weymouth Carnival to go out this way'
- You can now get KFC and Burger King and more delivered to Weymouth campsite
Last year's restrictions saw a virtual event being held, helping to raise money for Dorset County Hospital's Covid appeal.
The online festival was the brainchild of Olly Coe and Billy Hutchinson of Weymouth band The Leggomen, and Andrew Cooke, who is behind the Loving Weymouth and Portland Facebook page.
Commenting at the time, Mr Cooke said: "Using Loving Weymouth and Portland Facebook page as the online host for the virtual Festival seemed the obvious thing to do to support our town’s brilliant musicians, raise money for the DCH Covid-19 Appeal and keep Weymouth in the mind's eye of all those thousands of potential visitors who’ll be planning their holidays when the present crisis eases."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel