South Ribble residents at last weekend’s Music in the Park have called the Jubilee event ‘the best since the hey days’.

South Ribble Borough Council deemed the inaugural Music in the Park ‘a major success’ and ‘history in the making’ as the borough saw record numbers uniting for a weekend of events.

The Bank Holiday weekend was two years in the making, with many planned activities cancelled due to the pandemic.

But the event was a chance for the borough to celebrate together with a ‘great atmosphere and community spirit’.

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Councillor Paul Foster, the leader of South Ribble Borough Council, said: “Wow – I’ve been blown away this weekend by how our communities have come together to welcome visitors and celebrate the Jubilee.

“It was amazing to see so many people turn out for the Leyland Festival parade and entertainment in Worden Park – I can’t remember the crowds ever being like that – some who have been coming for decades said it was the best ever.”

Councillor Paul Foster said: “And then to follow it up with some of the biggest icons in the music industry, including Tony Hadley, Pat Sharp, T’Pau, Go West and Heaven 17, performing right here in South Ribble was just something else.”

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Councillor Foster said the council has to do more to organise similar events to put the borough on the map and ‘make residents proud of where they live’ and draw in visitors.

The councillor said the event boosted the local economy and pride in the community, with more people spending their money with local businesses.

Councillor Foster said: “Although the pandemic hindered us, we’ve shown what we want to do, and this weekend has kicked it off.

“The feedback over the weekend has been overwhelmingly positive, and I can’t thank everyone involved in making it happen enough.

“We should all be proud of what we did, and I hope everyone had a good time.”

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