Plans for the staging of a huge outdoor concert during the Galway Arts Festival this summer have been put in doubt after it was revealed yesterday that planning permission may be required.
The arts festival had planned to stage the Big Day Out at the Castlegar GAA ground, featuring The Beautiful South and Sinead O'Connor, following the success of the inaugural event which attracted 20,000 music fans last year.
But the city manager, Mr Joe Gavin, said yesterday that he had been in touch with MCD, the promoters, over their need to obtain planning permission for the event which is due to take place on July 19th.
"Where an estimated 20,000 people are gathering for a concert at a venue, planning permission may well be needed," he said. Mr Gavin added he would confirm the corporation's position within the coming days.
A similar obstacle arose last month over U2's plans to bring their world tour to the Phoenix Park in Dublin, but the need to obtain permission was removed when Dublin Corporation agreed to act as co-promoters of the event. The Dublin concert is due to attract 100,000 music fans in August.