Kasabian announce huge homecoming gig at Leicester's Victoria Park

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Kasabian will play a huge homecoming gig at Leicester's Victoria Park next summer.

The multi-platinum selling band, who have won Brit, Q and NME awards and played to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, will come home to perform in the city on June 21.

About 35,000 tickets for the gig, which will mark the 10th anniversary year of their debut album, are set to go on sale at the end of this week.

It will be the first major gig at Victoria Park since Radio One's free One Big Sunday events, which saw stars including Kylie Minogue, Victoria Beckham and Coldplay playing to more than 100,000 people in 2001, and Supergrass and Alicia Keys performing in 2002.

Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan, guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno and bass player Chris Edwards, who all grew up in Blaby and Countesthorpe, have wanted to put on a big show in Leicester for years.

In an exclusive interview with the Mercury to announce the gig, Serge said it would be one of the highlights of their career.

"It feels like it was just meant to be," he said.

"It's going to be the 10-year anniversary of the first album, so it feels right.

"It feels like we've been building up to this since the start. We're so excited. Hopefully the whole city will come alive."

Serge said he hoped the show would be inspiring to other musicians.

"We really want to do something to inspire the next generation of kids," he said.

"If you're a kid and you see a band from down the road play a big gig in your city... I hope that's inspiring.

"We had to travel round the country to see the bands we liked when we were young, so it's great to be able to do this."

Local support has always been important to the band, who put on three back-to-back gigs at De Montfort Hall and organised for two bus-loads of Leicester fans to attend an exclusive gig in London in 2009.

In 2011, they put on a "money-can't-buy" show in a hollowed-out Boeing 747 at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, near Lutterworth, as well as a gig with Radio 1 at the Leicester O2 Academy.

But they say the dream has always been to play to thousands of fans in their home city.

"We have done shows in Leicester, but the closest big gigs we've been able to do have been in Nottingham," said Chris. "This is what we've always wanted to do – put on something of this scale in Leicester.

"Though we've wanted to do it for ages, it's kind of good we didn't do it for our second or third album. Now, we'll have five albums' worth to choose from.

"It's going to be amazing. And, hopefully, it might be the start of more bands doing things at Vicky Park."

The band are currently working on their fifth album, details of which are being kept secret.

However, they said the aim is to release it in time for the Victoria Park show.

"We just can't wait, it's going to be mega," said Tom.

Leicester city mayor Peter Soulsby said it would be a great event for the city.

"Leicester is incredibly proud of Kasabian and we are delighted to host this homecoming concert to celebrate these local heroes," he said.

"There can be no doubt that this will be one of the musical highlights anywhere in the country next summer."

Andy Copping, spokesman for gig promoter Live Nation, said he was "overjoyed" that the gig was finally happening.

"Having worked with Kasabian from the very early days, it has been my dream to stage a really big homecoming show for them," he said.

"The band are very proud of Leicester and this means more to them then any other show they have ever played.

"I really hope the people of Leicester will get behind this event and celebrate the success of one of their own."

Kasbian will play at Victoria Park on Saturday, June 21.

Tickets, priced at £39.50, go on sale on Friday at 9am. You can buy them online or in person at the De Montfort Hall box office.

Visit:

www.livenation.co.uk

www.ticketmaster.co.uk

For a look back at pictures of previous big gigs at Victoria Park click here