Wireless Festival and Hard Rock Calling heading east to London's Olympic Park
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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
The Olympic Park will welcome hundreds of thousands of music fans this Summer when the East London venue stages the Hard Rock Calling and Wireless festivals.
The events will move from Hyde Park following complaints from residents over the noise levels and nuisance.
They will now be held in July, the first anniversary of the Games, with names including The Rolling Stones and Beyoncé tipped to appear.
Live Nation, the concert promoter which won the contract to stage the shows, is expected to use both the Olympic Stadium and the site once occupied by Olympic hockey arena for the festivals, which will each run over three days.
Live Nation said the public transport links and acoustics at the Olympic Park were better suited than Hyde Park to staging such large-scale events.
Boris Johnson, London Mayor, said the relocation of the festivals “from the centre of the capital is a ringing endorsement of our legacy plans”.
The £292 million transformation of the Olympic Park, which began when the London 2012 Games ended, is set to take 18 months.
The site, featuring new homes and schools, state-of-the-art venues and public parklands, is set to open in phases from July. It is due to fully open by spring next year.
Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation said: “This deal marks an important stepping stone towards securing a long-term programme of fantastic events that will make Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park a leading destination both for Londoners and those from further afield.”
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Plans for a reduced number of concerts in Hyde Park this Summer, promoted by Live Nation’s rival, AEG, will be announced tomorrow.
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