PLANS for one of the country’s biggest festivals are well under way.

A date for Darwen Live, the second-biggest free-to-attend music festival in the UK, was confirmed via the event’s Facebook page and applications opened for those wanting to take part.

The festival will take place on the last weekend of May, and organiser Darren James said it will be the ‘biggest yet’.

Mr James said they will be making use of the events space created by the demolition of the five-day market

He said: “We are turning everything round so the stage is going to be where the market used to be. We went down on Saturday and had a look round and measured it out.

“All the other events on the space have been really successful, so hopefully we will be able to build on previous years success and make it the biggest one yet.

“The police estimated that the last one brought around 30,000 people into Darwen over the weekend and we had 4,000 people at the main stage.

“It really is great business for the town.”

Darwen Mayor Cllr Roy Davies said it was good news for Darwen.

He said: “It’s good that Darwen Live has been recognised as an event that people want to come to.

“Obviously the nightlife will profit from the event but hopefully Darwen businesses will benefit too.

“These events are a great way for us to show Darwen at its best, so hopefully will want to come back and see what else the town has to offer.”

The festival will feature a mixture of local bands with well-known acts, such as last year’s headliners, 80s pop superstars T’Pau, playing the main stage.

A number of surrounding businesses will host performances while the beer tent and food stalls will create a festival atmosphere.

Mr James said: “It’s a very family friendly event.

“It’s all about the music, not the drinking.

“That was why we introduced the beer tent, it gives people a place to drink and keeps everything under control,

Applications are now open for people to get involved with Darwen Live. Mr James said they would welcome any local bands, stallholders and volunteers as well as sponsorship from businesses.

He said: “We are only a small town, and funding gets less every year.

“It would be nice to get big local businesses involved, if they could sponsor the beer tent or the main stage it would give us a real boost.”

The lineup will be announced on May 1.

Visit facebook.com/pg/DarwenLive to take part.