Snow Patrol's Olympic Hyde Park gig permitted to last until 1am
Story by Jack Foley
SNOW Patrol will be allowed to play until 1am in Hyde Park as part of a gig that will coincide with the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
The band are scheduled to play alongside Stereophonics and Paolo Nutini at the BT London Live gig on July 27 but have been given special permission to extend their show as part of the one-off festivities.
Westminster Council called the curfew “exceptional” and said it was dictated by the Olympic TV broadcast, which is being shown on screens in the park.
Councillor Audrey Lewis, licensing chairman of Westminster Council, explained: “The opening night of the Olympics is clearly an exceptional evening and the Hyde Park show on Friday is timed to run around the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
“It is not a case of a straight forward concert night at Hyde Park. We took that into consideration when granting the application. It is clearly different from commercial shows that run throughout other parts of the year.”
Snow Patrol will take to the stage at 11.10pm as part of the culmination of a concert event that will features acts representing all the countries of the UK. However, sources close to the gig say the band is likely to finish about half an hour short of the 1am curfew.
Duran Duran fly the flag for England at the gig, while Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Snow Patrol represent Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Westminster Council also confirmed that Blur’s closing gig on August 12 will also have a 1am curfew.
News of the permits follows the decision to pull the plug on Bruce Springsteen’s Hard Rock Calling gig earlier this month when the rocker over-ran his concert while dueting with Paul McCartney. Find out more