The Festival of Families at Croke Park will be a sold-out show with 70,000 attendees and hundreds of performers including Andrea Bocelli, Nathan Carter, Daniel O’Donnell and The Priests. The event will last for two hours and aims to celebrate family life. Along with the big performers, there will also be an orchestra of over 50 musicians, over 700 dancers, a choir of 1,000 people and 300 flag bearers.
The Festival of Families at Croke Park will be a sold-out show with 70,000 attendees and hundreds of performers including Andrea Bocelli, Nathan Carter, Daniel O’Donnell and The Priests.
The event will last for two hours and aims to celebrate family life. Along with the big performers, there will also be an orchestra of over 50 musicians, over 700 dancers, a choir of 1,000 people and 300 flag bearers.
Country star Nathan Carter is honoured to be performing at the Festival of Families on stage with so many others. “It is a pretty unique opportunity and I am really looking forward to it,” says Carter.
Members of the Riverdance troupe who will be performing at the Festival of Families in Croke Park on 25 August. This is part of the World Meeting of Families 2018 which Pope Francis will be attending. Other performers at the festival will include Nathan Carter, Daniel O'Donnell and Andrea Bocelli.
He will be performing REM’s Everybody Hurts along with a choir.
“It was an absolute honour to be asked…I said yes immediately.”
Having played for Pope John Paul II in Rome previously with another choir, Carter is no stranger to a papal performance.
His grandparents and his mother and father, who are regular church goers, are delighted about his chance to perform for the Pope.
“It was a big deal in our house,” he says.
Carter has performed Amhrán na bhFiann in Croke Park, but this will be his first performance in the stadium with a band.
The acclaimed singer won’t be attending the other papal events, but he will have other shows around the country in the coming weeks.
Fr Martin O’Hagan from The Priests is eagerly awaiting the Festival of Families.
“We were absolutely delighted to accept this opportunity to sing at such an exciting event,” says O’Hagan.
“It is a unique opportunity. There will be a lovely flavour of different types of music, dance, voices.
“It will be great to celebrate the importance of family. Not just individual families, but God’s family.”
Members of the Riverdance troupe who will be performing at the Festival of Families in Croke Park on 25 August. This is part of the World Meeting of Families 2018 which Pope Francis will be attending. Other performers at the festival will include Nathan Carter, Daniel O'Donnell and Andrea Bocelli.
The response to the Pope’s visit has been mixed across the country; how does he feel about the reaction?
“I think the response to date has been very positive. It is an international experience, not only Ireland but the whole world will be taking part. It will have a major message about family life,” says O’Hagan.
The priest is basically a papal visit veteran by now as he attended the previous visit in 1979 when he was just 17 years old.
“I went to the Youth Mass in Galway. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the crowd. To be there, to be present, the atmosphere was incredible,” he reflects.
They will be performing one song at the show, the title of which remained a secret at the time of publication.
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