Entertainment

Bruce Springsteen at Croke Park: leave early, plan well and enjoy 'one of the best acts ever'

Bruce Springsteen who will be playing the first of two Dublin gigs in Croke Park on Friday evening
Bruce Springsteen who will be playing the first of two Dublin gigs in Croke Park on Friday evening
By Gail Bell

AN estimated 80,000 devoted Bruce Springsteen fans will be making their way to Croke Park tomorrow for the first of two long-awaited gigs.

With concert-going crowds coinciding with another 50,000 football supporters travelling to Dublin's Aviva Stadium for the Ireland-Netherlands friendly ahead of the Euros, organisers have put together a number of safety pointers for those heading to Croke Park.

And one of the most pressing, according to Jim Clarke from Aiken Promotions, was to "get there early" as the Boss will begin his River Tour promptly at 7pm, minus preceding suppport act.

Aiken Promotions and An Garda Siochana unveiled a traffic management plan at a conference in Croke Park earlier this week and Ticketmaster also issued a public information notice urging fans to be on their best behaviour, including arriving when gates open at 5pm - and not lighting up during the outdoor event.

Translink NI has also been in preparation mode, putting on two extra train services between Belfast Central and Dublin Connolly tomorrow and Saturday as well as special coach services from the Europa Bus Centre and from Derry to Dublin, via Omagh and Strabane.

Online sales for the special trains have now closed, but there are a limited number of tickets available for sale at Belfast Central, Portadown, and Newry rail stations, and coach tickets can still be purchased online at translink.co.uk

So, as the countdown begins, here is the checklist of what you (mostly) need to know...

* Double the time it normally takes to travel to Croke Park from Dublin city centre. Cancellation of a planned Luas strike on Friday will not revoke all travel chaos normally seen on busy Friday afternoons.

* Leave work early - if the real boss permits it.

* Come prepared for rain - showers are forecast this weekend. Bring a concert poncho but no umbrellas are allowed.

* Exercise patience with stewards and gardai as they implement their traffic plan.

* Be aware that no overnight queuing is permitted.

* Bring ID - no under 14s will be allowed on the pitch and anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

* Don't buy tickets from bogus ticket sellers who may be outside the venue.

* Don't queue in the residential areas prior to gates opening - no queuing is allowed on the streets around Croke Park.

* Guardians must remain with under 16s and take full responsibility at all times for them throughout the event.

* Free TAG-A-KID safety wristbands will be available at all the customer care points both outside and inside the venue.

* Banned items include alcohol, weapons, fireworks and studs and spikes as well as garden furniture, selfie sticks and inflatable balls. Concert-goers - who are also advised against bringing large back-packs - are banned from having food, flashlights, glass or cans, cameras with more an a one-inch lens, glowsticks, laser pointers, video cameras and audio devices.

Aiken’s Event Controller, Jim Clarke, said other points to bear in mind was the strict ban on re-admittance and the need to "walk slowly" to the exits at the end of the concerts - a curfew is set at 11pm.

And, if everyone sticks to the rules, he said fans could look forward to "one of the best acts to ever grace this stadium".

"His performance at Croke Park will be on a par with anything else that has occurred in the world," Mr Clarke said.

"But the advice is to arrive on time. Whatever your normal arrangements for getting to Croke Park, double it. If you’re coming on a three-hour journey, make it a six-hour journey.

"If you’re coming on a two-hour journey, make it a four-hour journey. Give yourself plenty of time so that there’s no disappointment that you’re going to miss half the show by being late.

"There are no support acts - it’s Bruce from start to finish. Tradition is that it’s quite a long show, so it’s very important that people get here on time."

Croke Park's community officer and community team will be on duty both nights.

More information on transport is available at www.transportforireland.ie/transport-information-croke-park-con

Bruce Springsteen invited a little girl on stage for a singalong at his 2013 Belfast concert