First stars of Scarborough Open Air Theatre's 2019 season to be revealed

Both are music icons – with one returning to play the Yorkshire coast venue for a second time.

A record-breaking 90,000 people watched shows at Scarborough OAT in 2018 with sell-out gigs from the likes of Britney Spears, Lionel Richie, Bastille and Gary Barlow.

And venue programmers Cuffe and Taylor today pledged they will be bringing more of music’s biggest stars to Europe’s largest open air arena in 2019.

Director Peter Taylor said: “2018 was quite simply a sensational year at Scarborough Open Air Theatre enjoyed by more than 90,000 people.

“The challenge is always how do you follow that? But we have another brilliant run of shows lined up for next year which we feel sure will appeal to a wide audience.

“We cannot wait to reveal our first two headline stars. Both are music icons and we feel sure these shows will sell out very quickly.

“It’s going to be another incredible summer at this stunning venue – so watch this space!”

Cuffe and Taylor, which is part of Live Nation UK, took over promoting live music at the Scarborough Borough Council-owned Open Air Theatre in 2016 and has beaten the venue’s attendance record every year since.

This year’s line-up saw performances from Lionel Richie, The Script, Gary Barlow, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Steps, Alfie Boe, Emeli Sandé, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Stereophonics, Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics, Il Divo, Bastille, Texas, James Arthur, Britney Spears and indie legends James.

Ahead of Monday’s first announcements, Cllr Derek Bastiman, Leader of Scarborough Borough Council, said: “This summer’s line up at the OAT was incredible, both in terms of venue reputation and the hugely positive impact it had on the visitor economy.

“We are more than ready to continue the success story and we can’t wait to hear who Cuffe and Taylor have got lined up to play at the OAT in 2019.”