AN open air venue on the Yorkshire coast is on course for a record-breaking year.

More than 45,000 people have already bought tickets for chart-topping acts heading to Scarborough Open Air Theatre (OAT) this year.

The Beach Boys, Little Mix, Olly Murs, Kaiser Chiefs, Tom Jones and Cliff Richard are all due to play. Promoters Cuffe and Taylor say there are still more acts to be announced.

Last year 50,000 people attended concerts at the North Yorkshire venue, which is Europe’s largest open air theatre.

Cuffe and Taylor director Peter Taylor said: “The response to this summer’s shows has been simply fantastic. We are looking to increase the number of shows from the 11 we held in 2016 to 18 this year. That means thousands more music fans coming to the Yorkshire coast which is fantastic for the local tourist economy.

He added: "We are delighted to be promoting Scarborough and the beautiful Yorkshire coast on the national stage and really can’t wait for the legendary Beach Boys to kick off the first OAT gig of 2017 on May 24.”