North Shields 800 celebrations launched with live music at town's theatre
Celebrations to mark the 800-year anniversary of North Shields officially launched at The Exchange 1856 today.
The North Tyneside town will host a calendar of events throughout 2025 including parades, exhibitions, street art murals, heritage projects and performing arts. TV's Rachel Sweeney hosted the launch of North Shields 800 on Friday, with speeches from Mayor Dame Norma Redfearn DBE and Tynemouth MP Sir Alan Campbell.
There was more live music from singer-songwriter Liam Fender, while local band Hector Gannet are set to play to more than 800 guests in free ticketed gigs on both Friday and Saturday. These newer artists are adding to the town's rich musical heritage, which has strong links to the Pet Shop Boys, Lindisfarne and the Animals.
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Actress Jill Halfpenny was also spotted in the crowd getting behind the celebrations, which involved the children of New York Primary School singing Spirit of the North.
Speaking to ChronicleLive ahead of the launch, Liam Fender said that it was quite an exciting time for North Shields. He said: "I think it's just really interesting to see what it can do to bring the creative community together."
He also revealed that he's in the early stages of a documentary as part of the project. Liam continued: "We're going to do something quite interesting with it.
"It's not just going to be man around town interviewing people, we're looking to shine a light on North Shields and how it's grown. There's a creative community over the last decade or so and going right back to the past as well you know, musically, back as far as we can really."
Founded in 1225 as a collection of simple huts called Shiels where the Fish Quay now stands, the town expanded onto the bank above the riverside in the 18th century. Across eight centuries, that small fishing port serving Tynemouth Priory has grown into a town of approximately 35,000 people.
Sir Alan Campbell, Labour MP for Tynemouth, said of the North Shields 800: "It's a great opportunity to celebrate 800 years of history, but also to reflect on what a great place North Shields is today, and what an exciting place it's going to be in the future."
The festival coincides with several regeneration projects either being completed or close to completion in the town. The Riverside Embankment Walkway linking the Fish Quay and town centre opened just before Christmas; the town's new transport hub opened in September 2023, and a square named after WWII hero Thomas Brown was unveiled last March. In recent weeks, the removal of the Beacon Centre clock tower got underway as part of wider Bedford Street improvements.
Though the official launch of the festival was today, months of work have already gone into it - more than 100 people gathering at the Collingwood Monument to make a giant 800 in June last year - and the North Shields 800 committee have been meeting since June 2023. For more information on the event's taking place as part of the North Shields 800, visit the dedicated website here.