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Entertainment
Barbara Hodgson

Northern Pride announces Ministry of Sound as first big name for July festival

Dance music brand Ministry of Sound has been revealed as the first act on this summer's Northern Pride line-up, promising to bring a blast of Ibiza to Newcastle.

The dance and house music club name is set to draw big crowds during the festival which will play out on the Town Moor over the July 22-23 weekend. And the top DJs taking to the stage for its big 90-minute set, which will be the closing on the Saturday night, will be Smokin Jo and Seamus Haji.

Smokin Jo, who has gigged across the world in countries including Japan, Brazil, Greece, Singapore and the US, is the only female ever to be given the number one DJ in the world award. She has been a regular at top clubs in Ibiza, where she still has a residency, and at Fabric in London.

Read more: When Germany's Eurovision act Lord of the Lost rocked Newcastle

DJ and record producer Seamus Haji, who will be taking to the decks alongside her, has just as high a set of credentials, having had a number one in the UK dance charts with his cover of Indeep’s Last Night A DJ Saved My Life and a full CV of work with the likes of Mariah Carey, Rhianna, Moby and Mika.

Ste Dunn, director of Northern Pride, said Ministry of Sound is a first for the Newcastle festival, a celebration of the LGBT community, and added: "We were very keen to mix it up and have some entertainment that was very different than anything we’d had before.

“It’s a real coup for us getting two of the biggest DJs in the world to perform - we’re confident it will be an amazing club and party set.” The Festival Arena, where the stars will be in action, will have a small charge this year which Pride says it has imposed to ensure it can "continue at the same level" that festival-goers know to expect.

Tickets start from £6 for a day pass and £10 for the weekend, including access to bars and food stalls as well as the annual funfair. There is also an option to upgrade to a Platinum Pass, offering access to the VIP space, described as new and improved, as well as a 'Platinum Bar and Garden', being sponsored by Bobby’s pub in Newcastle.

The festival site will also include the free Community Village, with its Curious Arts stage; sports and active life zone and the LGBT Northern Social Group, which will be supporting those who may be attending Pride for the first time.

It will also house the Family and Youth Zone; the Health and Wellbeing and the Rainbow Village which will include market stalls. For tickets see here.

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