Changes to Bournemouth's Arts by the Sea Festival because of weather

Opening night performances this evening are being relocated and rescheduled

Author: Maria GreenwoodPublished 30th Sep 2022
Last updated 30th Sep 2022

Strong winds and heavy rain forecast for Bournemouth today (30th September) have led to organisers of Arts by the Sea Festival relocating and rescheduling performances of its outdoor Press Play Opening Ceremony.

The House Gospel Choir who were due to perform on stage outside the Town Hall on Friday 30th September, will now appear at Bournemouth nightclub, The Old Fire Station.

With a limited capacity of 550, the event will operate on a first come-first served basis, so visitors are advised to arrive early to avoid disappointment. The intimate experience will see the House Gospel Choir performing the best house, gospel and garage tunes of all time.

Further outdoor music programming has also been relocated to the Firestation on Friday night. The legendary DJ Brandon Block will now be spinning classic dance tunes at the venue under the banner of The Hush Club, as will FRAU DJs member, Sara Blow who was originally due to bring her party anthems and disco edits to the Roller Disco at the Pop Up Skate Park.

Doors for this impromptu concert will open at 6pm and close at 10pm, and like the rest of the Arts by the Sea Festival, it remains free to attend.

Singers from the House Gospel Choir

Festival organisers at BCP Council and the creative team at From The Fields have been working hard to deliver the festival’s original opening night programme in a revised format on Saturday 1st October instead, when the weather is due to improve.

The festival’s annual 3D projection mapping on the Town Hall will still be available for audiences to enjoy on Saturday night along with the performance of Dorset’s largest contemporary choir, Funky Little Choir.

Projection specialists, The Media Workshop have adapted the screening, which originally featured the House Gospel Choir singing live with lyrics projected onto the facade of the Town Hall, to now feature mesmerising and mind-bending visuals, choreographed to recorded tracks from the House Gospel Choir.

Visitors can catch this every 15 minutes on Saturday 1st October from 8:30pm until 10pm, with Funky Little Choir appearing from 7:30pm-8:00pm.

Line Up

The Old Firestation, Friday 30th September

18:00 Doors - DJ Sara Blow

19.45 - 21:00 - House Gospel Choir

21:00 - 22:00 Brandon Block with The Hush Club

22:00 - Curfew

Town Hall, Saturday 1st October

19:30 - 20:00 Funky Little Choir

20:30 - 22:00 Press Play Projection Mapping with tracks from House Gospel Choir (every 15 minutes)

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app.