Slane Castle ready to rock with Metallica

The international appeal of Metallica at Slane Castle will see the largest ever overseas influx of fans to the Meath village on Saturday 8th June for the latest leg of the American rock giants' WorldWired tour.
Over 8,000 metal-heads from such far flung places as Chile, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, US and Canada as well as the UK and Europe will flock to the mecca of rock and roll at Slane Castle and Henry Mountcharles just cannot wait for the event which will boost the economy to the tune of €41 million.
"We have been excited about Metallica for some considerable length of time. They are a very apt act to follow Guns N' Roses. Slane has always been, at heart, a rock n' roll venue and Slane definitely will rock on Saturday," enthused Mountcharles.
"It certainly looks like 75,000 will be in attendance, ticket sales have been very strong. Interestingly there will be a high attendance from overseas. This concert will have the widest geographical spread we have ever had, I think I'm correct in saying we even have someone from Chile coming.
"Metallica have a very loyal following and I'd imagine some of their fans think that this is a very colourful venue to come to.
"The overseas interest has always been significant, but this year it seems to have a bit of a jump. I'm a gentleman who believes in a united Ireland so I don't believe tickets that are sold in Northern Ireland are overseas.
"The great thing about sure a big crowd from overseas is that this is a window to the world. All those people are staying in hotels, guesthouses, bars and restaurants. it spreads the economic benefit.
"It is lovely to know that people are coming from such widespread parts to listen to some heavy metal by the banks of the Boyne," he said.
Metallica's gig at the iconic Slane Castle will be the 30th gig staged in the natural amphitheatre by the banks of the river Boyne and Mountcharles warned patrons not to swim in the beautiful river.
"Please respect Slane village and the people who live in the village and their property," said Mountcharles.
"Please, please keep away from the river Boyne. It looks very attractive, it's a wonderful river, people sing about it, but don't swim in it. It is a hungry river and it is dangerous."
As always the wide and varied list of dos and don'ts and items prohibited was extensive with fans advised not to bring their garden furniture, or unauthorised reflective vests. Also if you happen to be Aquaman or a member of the merpeople family it is also advised to leave your trident at home.
Gates will open at 2pm with Fangclub on stage at 3pm. Metallica are due on stage at 8pm and the show will conclude at 11pm.
Patrons are advised to use the car parks provided, avail of public transport where possible and remeber the parking zones they are parked in. 
MCD are using an a free official app which will provide all relevant event information and can be downloaded at evntz.app.

 

Ever since Thin Lizzy headlined the first Slane gig on 16th August 1981 with such salubrious support acts as The Bureau and U2, the concerts at Slane Castle have gained worldwide acclaim as the greatest rock and roll gigs on earth.
From modest crowds at Thin Lizzy to close to 100,000 at Bruce Springsteen's epic show in 1985 Slane Castle quickly established itself as the premier rock venue in the world.
After seven successive years of concerts Mountcharles took a break from hosting gigs at the castle for five years and returned in spectacular style in 1992 with Guns N' Roses headlining for the first time.
In 2001 U2 created history when they became the first band to headline Slane twice and not only that they quickly headlined for a third time when they played two shows in a week at the venue.
A quarter of a century after they first headlined at the Meath venue The Rolling Stones returned in 2007 with Oasis's first headline gig two years later.
In 2013 Slane once again hosted two concerts, but this time with two different acts as Bon Jovi took the stage in June, while Eminem disappopinted in August.
Since then Slane Concents have become a bianuall event with the focus very much back on Rock n' Roll with Foo Fighters (2015) and Guns n' Roses (2017) headlining.
Now Metallica are the latest act to carry on that tradition and as Mountcharles admitted at Thursday's press conference "what the hell do I follow this with?"

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