A FESTIVAL promoter has promised to make his gig ‘the biggest dance music event Burnley has ever seen’.

Madge Nawaz, co-owner of the Remedy bar in Ormerod Street, hopes to attract 2,000 revellers to Towneley Park for the Drop the Beat Festival.

The 46-year-old, who organised two similar events in Bank Hall Park last year, said the concert would help put Towneley ‘back on the map’ as a music venue.

Mr Nawaz, a DJ himself, has booked acts including Welsh house group K-Klass, a mainstay during the heyday of the the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Other artists due to perform during the 11-hour festival on August 16 include Rob Tissera, founder of the popular Leeds house night Kissdafunk, and actor Muzz Khan, from Nelson.

Mr Nawaz, who is organising the festival with Burnley DJ Craig Kennedy, said: “We did two events last year and they both sold out quickly and did really well.

“We’ve wanted to do something big at Towneley Park for about four years.

“But with Towneley Live on we didn’t think the time was right.

“Now we’ve had all the discussions with the council and got the licences in place, we can’t wait.”

The festival will be held in the same location as Towneley Live was in 2011, with one main arena and two stages housing up to 600 partygoers each.

And if this year’s expanded version of the festival is a success, Mr Nawaz wants it to double in size next year.

He said: “Hopefully it will sell out and everyone has a good time. We want to bring people into Burnley and hopefully that will have a knock-on effect for other businesses here.

“It will be the biggest dance music event Burnley has ever seen.”

A portion of the profits from ticket sales will be donated to Furniture for Education Worldwide, an international children’s charity based in Nelson Square, Burnley.