Jessie J wowed over 10,000 fans when she played at Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park in Shropshire.
Jessie J leaves behind a mud bath
It was always going to be Shrewsbury’s biggest outdoor concert as tickets to see Jessie J perform in the beautiful Quarry Park sold out within a day.
The organisers KAL Music and Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn could not keep up with the high demand as tickets sold out faster than anticipated.
So could you believe it that when the day came and it was the wettest day you can imagine with many parts of the Midlands experiencing extreme weather conditions and major flooding.
Crowds had been queuing outside the Quarry Park for more than eight hours in the rain, but nothing was going to put a dampener on one of Shropshire’s biggest outdoor events of 2012.
Luckily for the thousands of people attending the concert, which was supported by 17 year-old A*M*E and Jay James Picton, the clouds broke to reveal a warm, dry and balmy Friday evening.
I say balmy because the atmosphere at this outdoor gig was amazing, with the rain gone fans of the singer started to peel off their wet clothes and break open their bubbly.
When ‘The Voice’ star came on stage at 9 o’clock the crowds were in very high spirits and just about all of the 10,000 revellers were on their feet dancing.
A muddy aftermath
Unfortunately with a crowd over 10,000 people all stamping on ground that has been rained on for over 12 hours you can imagine the aftermath.
Shrewsbury has had many outdoor concerts with a few in the rain, but I must admit when everyone had left and I was standing in front of the stage even I was devastated by what had been left behind.
Not only did it look as if the Quarry Park had been excavated but the rubbish, which included umbrellas, picnic baskets, picnic chairs, clothing and litter, was totally catastrophic.
It now becomes a race against time to get the park back to its original glory before the 125th Shrewsbury Flower Show, the world’s longest running flower show.
A spokesperson from Shrewsbury Town Council told me today they are confident that the park will be “back to normal in two weeks” ready for the Flower Show on 10 and 11 August 2012, she also said this is exactly what they had been expecting following the amount of people at the outdoor gig and that it wasn’t as bad as it had been made out.
On Friday night the whole of the Quarry Park looked like a landfill site, but by Saturday it looked totally different, the litter was gone the mud had been rolled and shoots of greenery were starting to poke through, so well done Shrewsbury Town Council, gardeners and managers of the Quarry Park.
Good news for the Flower Show fans and the residents.
Flower Show 2012
The Shropshire Star have had a torrent of complaints on their report following the concert, many of whom are totally devastated by the damage, one person commented by saying “what a complete mess to one of Shrewsbury great tourist traps. the cost of repairs must be 20x ticket sales, so was it worth having a so called celeb in shrewsbury” [sic].
Another saying: “Our lovely Quarry now looks like Passchendaele Battlefield. – So who’s going to foot the bill for the repair job?” Mmm, a slight over reaction I think!
Lots of other residents have left comments saying that the Shrewsbury Flower Show leaves exactly the same mess but over a longer period, and quite right too, many a year has this attraction been a mud bath and it is always sorted out effectively and efficiently.
Following her performance in Shrewsbury Jessie J wrote on her Twitter account: “Tonight was emotional. Thank you Shrewsbury :)xxx”.
So, put aside what ever you think of the mess left behind, the town not only got a well needed boost from the concert, it cheered up thousands of people who are all looking forward to hearing if this will be repeated next year and with whom, and hopefully without the rain!!
For more information on the 125th Shrewsbury Flower Show go to http://www.britevents.com and we’ll see you there!!!
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