Motorists are being advised to expect delays this weekend when an 80s revival concert at Scone Palace takes place along with a lunchtime visit of Rangers to McDiarmid Park on Saturday.
Around 10,000 to 12,000 people are expected to attend on both Saturday and Sunday of the Rewind Festival, and those attending are being urged to leave plenty of time to avoid traffic congestion.
The potential for gridlock in the Fair City will be heightened by the visit of Rangers, who are playing St Johnstone in a league game, with the fixture sure to attract a large crowd.
Sergeant Paul Taylor of western division’s road policing unit in Perth said he hopes traffic problems are kept to a minimum.
“People should expect delays, particularly in Bridgend and Dundee Road, but should plan for their journey,” he said. “The Rewind Festival runs for three days with hopefully a lot of people arriving on the Friday for the camping area. We wouldn’t expect the festival to affect traffic too much that day.”
He continued, “Saturday will be busier traffic-wise. Shuttle buses will be running from Mill Street, Perth, so we are advising people to take them.”
He added, “The car park will be open from noon on Friday and from 9am on Saturday and Sunday at Scone Palace for Rewind. We are advising people to leave plenty of time to get there.”There will be between 10,000 to 12,000 people there on Saturday and Sunday with many arriving on the Friday for camping.
“We’ve never had such a major music event of this size at Scone Palace but we have been working in conjunction with Perth and Kinross Council so hopefully delays will be kept to a minimum.”
While Sergeant Taylor expects a sizeable crowd at McDiarmid Park for the visit of Rangers, he does not foresee any major traffic problems.
“This is St Johnstone’s first home match this season so the stadium will be full,” he said. “However, we have experience of dealing with the football so hopefully this won’t affect traffic on the bypass.”
The Rewind Festival features a host of acts from the 1980s. Saturday’s line-up will see Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley, Rick Astley, ABC, Bananarama, The Bluebells, Hue and Cry, The Beat, T’Pau, Cutting Crew, Billy Ocean, Go West, Hazel O’Connor and Kid Creole and the Coconuts.
Sunday will see The Human League, Kim Wilde, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Heaven 17, The Real Thing, Imagination, Perth-based Fiction Factory, Toyah, China Crisis, Doctor and the Medics and Modern Romance.
In addition, there will be a host of entertainment on offer, including a silent disco, karaoke, the Big Sing and the Friday Night Welcome Party. Drink will be provided in the arena bars, cocktail lounge and the ‘lavish lounge,’ which is described by the organisers as being a “funky, chill-out bar.”
A range of food stalls should also cater for most tastes.
This will be the third year the Rewind Festival has run, with the event also taking place at Temple Island Meadows, near Henley-On-Thames, between August 19-21. The festival began following the success of one-off 80s retro shows of previous years.
It was first held in August 2009 and the Scone Palace event will be the first time in Scotland.