Live at the Marquee to welcome Riverdance next summer

It’s been seen live by over 25 million people across the planet and smashed box office records over two decades — now the banks of the Lee are set to pulse to the rhythm of global dance phenomenon Riverdance for the first time.

The 20th anniversary staging of the dance show sensation Riverdance is high-kicking its way to the city’s Live at the Marquee summer concert series next summer.

Aiken Promotions confirmed yesterday that the record-breaking spectacular, which features a fusion of Irish and international dance and music, will perform in the tented venue in the city’s docklands from June 11 to 14.

Riverdance was first performed as the interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin on April 30, 1994, staring Michael Flatley and Jean Butler.

Such was the impact of that seven-minute performance, which was choreographed by Flatley to Bill Whelan’s music, it was developed into a full-length stage show.

Produced by Moya Doherty and directed by John McColgan, it smashed box office records during its world premiere runs in Dublin in 1995, and in London.

But after a bitter dispute over creative control, Flatley left the production.

The show went on to become a worldwide sensation, setting new records in theatres throughout North America, Australia, Asia, Europe, South Africa and South America.

The figures are staggering. Riverdance has: n Been seen live by 25m people in over 465 venues in 46 countries across six continents;

- Played over 11,000 performances;

- Travelled 700,000 miles — the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back and back again;

- Played to a global television audience of three billion people;

- Sold over three million copies of the Grammy Award-winning CD.

The special 20th anniversary production of Riverdance, which this year alone has played in 37 countries across Europe, including a 16-week return tour to the UK, as well as a ground breaking 30 city tour of China, is set to be one of the highlights of next summer’s Live at the Marquee series.

The line-up already includes The Coronas, Christy Moore with Declan Sinnott and Jim Higgins, rockers ZZ Top, comedian Dara Ó Briain, and country singing sensation Nathan Carter.

Tickets for the four-date Riverdance run go on sale at 9am next Thursday, December 11, from Ticketmaster and usual outlets.

Yesterday’s announcement comes after a string of major Live at the Marquee gig announcements, with dozens more expected over the coming months.

It’s gearing up to be another great summer of entertainment in Cork city, with hoteliers and publicans expected to reap the benefits.

Last month, it was announced that opera legend José Carreras will perform a double bill with Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins and the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra at a fully seated concert at Musgrave Park on June 20.

Carreras, who shot to fame following a performance during the 1990 World Cup in Rome with Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo as ‘The Three Tenors’, has promised a “magical night of entertainment”.

It will be Jenkins’s second concert in Cork after her sellout shows in City Hall in 2013.