Sunderland is set to welcome more than 30,000 visitors from across the country, as the Spice Girls descend on the Stadium of Light next month.
The reformed girl band will entertain crowds on Thursday, June 6.
Tony Davison, Sunderland AFC managing director, said: “As someone who has supported Sunderland since being a boy, I know just how important this club is to the city - but that goes beyond its football team.
“We have a fantastic stadium that - in a very short space of time - established itself as the stage of choice for stadium gigs from some of the world’s most successful artists.
“To be able to bring concerts back to Sunderland and see the impact that will have on the city is fantastic.”
Less than 15% of the 40,000 tickets sold to date are from Sunderland postcodes, with a huge number of those attending travelling to the city from neighbouring Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Durham.
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Fans will make their way to the gig from as far afield as Ireland, the South West and Wales, with a significant number of concert-goers travelling from Yorkshire, London and the North West.
Already, concerts held at the stadium have delivered an estimated economic impact of £4m each to the city’s businesses, meaning this Spice Girls event will take the total impact to around £80m.
The show is one of six Spice Girls concerts taking place between June 1 and 15 across the UK, with only Posh Spice - Victoria Beckham - not taking to the stage, Jess Glynn will be the supporting artist.
Sunderland City Council chief executive, Patrick Melia, said: “[The concerts] attract people to the city who may then be persuaded that this is a place they should return to, and they create a citywide feelgood factor that really cannot be underestimated.
“Sunderland is famed as a welcoming events city, and I’m sure I join the city’s traders, as well as residents, in saying that I look forward to seeing thousands of people come to see all we have to offer in June.”
A crowd of almost 50,000 is expected for the concert which will take place on June 6 and there is still a limited amount of hospitality packages available.
To book hospitality tickets for the Stadium of Light's concert, contact the team on 0371 911 1555 email spicegirls@safc.com or visit www.safc.com/spicegirls .
Standard tickets are available from Ticketmaster.
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