8:01am Monday 7th July 2008
By David Roberts
OFFICIALS are drawing up a "hit list" of international stars they hope to bring to the North-East after the outstanding success of Elton John's concert at the weekend.
More than 17,000 fans packed the Darlington Arena to watch Sir Elton's performance on Saturday night.
Management believe the success of the show has proven Darlington Football Cub's stadium can host some of the biggest names in the entertainment world - and they are drawing up a list of worldclass entertainers they hope to bring to the North-East.
A spokesman said: "We will be looking at some of the biggest names around. We've set the bar unbelievably high with Elton John and now we've got to top it."
Last night, the club won the backing of council bosses and community leaders delighted by Sir Elton's performance.
Immediately after the event, club chairman George Houghton said: "It was an incredible evening. Walking around the stadium before the concert was so exciting, there was such a buzz. Even the weather was kind to us, eventually.
"Sir Elton put on an amazing show and I am so proud for Darlington Football Club and the whole town that we were able to welcome a world-class performer.
"The whole event went very smoothly and the park-andride was a great success.
"The town's economy and profile have benefitted tremendously and I want to pay tribute to everyone who worked so hard to make the concert the success it undoubtedly was. I hope this is just the first.
"Elton John was magnificent and we aim to try and bring the very best performers to Darlington in the future."
His views were echoed by Darlington Mayor Ian Haszeldine.
He said: "Hopefully the success of last night will bring further success to the town.
North-East MEP Stephen Hughes, who lives in Darlington, also attended the concert with his wife, Cyndi, a borough councillor, and their two children.
He said: "It's great to see the stadium being put to this sort of use. It's a hell of a resource for the town, so we really should utilise it."
Darlington MP Alan Milburn, who was in the audience, said: "This proves that Darlington is more than capable of staging a world-class entertainment event and now the challenge is on to build on the success and bring more top-class performers to the town."
A spokeswoman for the club said: "The club hasn't started looking at names (for future concerts) yet, but it's fair to say it's got to be someone who's world-class.
"We've started really high with Elton John and we want to go on from there.
"We hope to make this an annual event as there is this window after the end of the football season which allows us to hold these big events."
The stadium was permitted to hold the concert last month after Darlington Borough Council agreed to lift a crowd limit of 6,000 people.
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