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Stadium of light shortlisted for top tourism award

The Stadium of Light has been shortlisted for a prestigious award for the role it has played in bringing tourism to the North East.

The ground, home to Sunderland AFC, has been shortlisted in the category of Tourism Experience of the Year, Incorporating Best Event, in the North East England Tourism Awards, after staging a number of high profile concerts with some of the biggest names in showbusiness.

The ground, which has attracted world famous stars such as Coldplay and Take That and will welcome Bon Jovi and Rihanna next year, was shortlisted by judges from a number of organisations, including NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Northumberland County Council, Nexus and the North East Chamber of Commerce.

The awards honour the achievements of venues, attractions, hotels and service providers working in the tourism industry and the winners of the 14 categories will be announced at a ceremony on January 31 2013 at The Sage Gateshead.

If the Stadium of Light wins its category it will then have the chance to compete against winners from other UK regions in the VisitEngland (correct) Awards for Excellence in 2013.

SAFC Commercial Diretor Gary Hutchinson said: “It was our goal to become much more than just a football stadium; to become an iconic venue in the events sector. “So far we have staged 12 concerts with internationally famous stars to combined audiences of around 650,000 people - 130,000 of whom came from outside the region –generating £42m for the region’s economy.

“This has been the result of a vast amount of work and perseverance from a very large number of people, both at the Stadium and within the wider Sunderland community and it is thanks to all their efforts that we have been shortlisted for this prestigious award.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sorted PR .