‘Rock the Park’ asking council for extra night

Organizers of one of London’s most popular festivals are asking city councillors to extend the fun by one day.

‘Rock the Park’ is celebrating its 14th anniversary and Jones Entertainment Group wants London City Councillors to approve an extra night of music this July.

City by-laws limit festivals to operating for only four consecutive days in Harris Park. Jones Entertainment Group is hoping to be granted a one-time exemption to increase the number to five.

In their submission to the city, Jones Entertainment Group wrote:

“We are respectfully seeking your approval to add an additional concert date to the fourteenth edition of Rock the Park. Jones Entertainment Group (JEG) has an incredible opportunity to host one of the best music festivals ever held in London, however to make this possible we need to operate Rock the Park (RTP) from Wednesday July 12th through Sunday July 16th, 2017 (5 consecutive days). We have an opportunity to present a very unique community event with a Huge Canadian Artist on Sunday afternoon (1pm to 5pm) for 8,000 fans coming into downtown London. The economic impact for the local economy will increase in regards to additional tourism dollars through hotel reservations, dining, shopping, and more. To move forward with our planning we are seeking relief from Section 10.3 of the Special Events Policies & Procedures Manual restricting the use of Harris Park to only 4 consecutive days.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are respectfully seeking your approval to add an additional concert date to the fourteenth edition of Rock the Park. Jones Entertainment Group (JEG) has an incredible opportunity to host one of the best music festivals ever held in London, however to make this possible we need to operate Rock the Park (RTP) from Wednesday July 12th through Sunday July 16th, 2017 (5 consecutive days). We have an opportunity to present a very unique community event with a Huge Canadian Artist on Sunday afternoon (1pm to 5pm) for 8,000 fans coming into downtown London. The economic impact for the local economy will increase in regards to additional tourism dollars through hotel reservations, dining, shopping, and more. To move forward with our planning we are seeking relief from Section 10.3 of the Special Events Policies & Procedures Manual restricting the use of Harris Park to only 4 consecutive days."

This is the 14th edition of Rock the Park, and previous concerts have raised money for Bethany’s Hope Foundation. This year’s shows will deliver funds to the Brandon Prust Foundation, Make a Wish – Southwestern Ontario, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of London Ontario, and Western Football.

The group asked for a similar extension for the 2015 festival – and received approval from council, despite some opposition from neighbourhood groups. However, City of London staffers say no additional complaints about noise were received after the festival.

Headliners at this year’s show include Lady Antebellum, Wiz Khalifa, The Offspring and July Talk.

The Saturday night show is being presented by FM96.

The request will be received by the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee on Monday.