Proms flies the flag for Teesside

A MAJOR award has been won by Middlesbrough Council’s Cultural Services for the BBC Proms in the Park event held last year in the town.

The event was named as the Best Event Tees Valley at the Journal Culture Awards ceremony held in Newcastle.

The council’s cultural services team and Suzannah Clarke, chairman of BBC Tees Proms in the Park Steering Group, led a multi-agency group of partner organisations that staged the Proms in the Park event last September.

A crowd of 5,500 people gathered in Middlesbrough’s Centre Square to take in the sights and sounds of international musicians and regional artists performing live.

The event was covered by national and international TV.

BBC Proms in the Park was up against two other Tees Valley events for the award – the opening night of Middlesbrough’s mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and Stockton Riverside Fringe Festival.

Dave Budd, Middlesbrough Council’s executive councillor for regeneration, said: “This award is important recognition that we can attract the very best.

“It was a remarkable coup to bring BBC Proms in the Park to the town and a great way to mark the first year of Centre Square.”

The council’s cultural services development manager, Juliet Farrar, added: “This award is recognition for all the partner agencies and colleagues who worked so hard to make the project such a success – staging the Proms was a great example of partnership working in Tees Valley.

“We intend to build on this success and our events programme for 2008 is already under way.”