A sell-out crowd of 7,500 revellers packed Elgin’s Cooper Park for the inaugural MacMoray music festival – and organisers want to do it all again next year.
The Vengaboys, Bob Geldof’s Boomtown Rats, S Club and Toploader thrilled fans of all ages on Saturday.
Huge queues started lining up outside the venue in the sun to get in before the first chords have been struck on stage.
And organisers have admitted they were “overwhelmed” with the enthusiasm of crowds through the day.
‘I would love to make MacMoray an annual thing’
The event has been four years in the planning for MacMoray event organiser Andy Macdonald – and he confessed seeing his vision become a reality was “like a dream”.
Crowds were praised for creating a feel-good atmosphere throughout the afternoon and evening with talks due to be held about whether the festival will return in 2023.
Mr Macdonald said: “To be honest, it’s not really up to me, it’s a decision for the council to see what they think.
“It’s the first event of its kind, there’s been a lot of work that has been put into it and we really need to review how everything went on the day and afterwards – things like that state of the ground.
“I would love to do it again though and make it an annual thing.”
Volunteers clear up Cooper Park
A small army of volunteers began clearing the grounds of Cooper Park on Saturday evening.
Litter was strewn across the ground at the end of the festival but by the next day had been cleared following a monumental effort by volunteers.
Such was the enthusiasm on Saturday, families began arriving with camping chairs, blankets and packed lunches in arms before the music even began at 12noon.
Large queues snaked around Cooper Park in the morning as groups waited patiently to get inside.
Mr Macdonald said: “We weren’t expecting so many people to turn up so soon, it was actually kind of nerve-wracking seeing it all.
“We weren’t expecting so many people to come and stay for the whole day. It’s fantastic they did, but we were expecting some to come earlier and some to come later.
“It’s just such a great feeling to have been able to put on something so many people enjoyed.”
