Dance weekender to be Preston Guild Hall's comeback event

DJ Graeme Park will be one of a host of performers playing at the Guild Hall in November

A weekend of dance classics will be the first public entertainment event to take place at a venue on its return from being mothballed four years ago.

The Preston Weekender will take place at the city's Guild Hall, which closed in 2019, on 18 and 19 November.

The Ministry of Sound Club Classics event, featuring N Trance, DJ Graeme Park and others, was due to take place in August, but has been put back.

A councillor said it would be a chance to showcase the upgraded venue.

Opened in 1973, the Guild Hall and Charter Theatre has hosted major snooker events and concerts from the likes of Queen and David Bowie.

The venue closed in 2019 after the firm running it went into administration.

A protracted legal battle followed with Preston City Council taking back ownership.

Upgrade work, which has included the installation of new signage, has been going on at the venue

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the event in November was originally going to be staged outdoors on the Flag Market from 11 to 13 August, but organisers made the "tough decision" to switch it indoors to ensure a better experience for ticketholders.

Preston City Council's cabinet member for culture and arts Peter Kelly said the staging of the rearranged event was a great opportunity to showcase the hall and remind people what the 50-year-old venue had to offer.

"It's what we've been waiting for and it'll show what we can do," he said.

"The hall is exceptional and the acoustics are really good, but this has got to be top end - so we're doing it with bells and whistles."

The hall has been undergoing an upgrade, which will see some seating replaced, a new sprinkler system installed, new signage and a switch from traditional lighting to LED bulbs.

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