ORGANISERS of York's Grand Départy Concert say ticket sales have been brisk in recent days, after only 1,000 out of 5,000 had been sold by last weekend.

The concert, which takes place on Friday evening at Huntington Stadium and will raise funds for charity, is intended to launch a weekend of celebrations as the city prepares to host theTour de France race on Sunday.

Acts taking part include Russell Watson, Kian Egan of Westlife, York-based singer songwriter Alistair Griffin, Ollie Marland, The Loveable Rogues, Altered Images, Brother Beyond, The Blow Monkeys and The Overtones.

Disco Mister, featuring Huntington School teachers Robin Parmiter and Ian Wilson, will also perform their World Cup single Bring It Home.

Sally Burns, City of York Council's Director of Communities & Neighbourhoods, said that by last weekend, about 1,000 tickets had been sold but sales had been 'really brisk' over the last few days and the council expected that to continue throughout this week, as people were still deciding what to do at the weekend.

"Also, tickets will still be on sale on the door on the night of the concert and we're confident that many people will wait to see what the weather is like and then turn up on the day," she said.

"We've chosen a diverse, family-friendly line-up so that there's plenty to appeal to younger concert goers and their parents. We wanted to create a fun, festival-like feel and ensure that tickets are affordable for families, who we see as our primary target audience.

"We're confident that everyone who comes along will have a wonderful evening. Huntington Stadium is an accessible venue with plenty of parking, which is why it was also chosen as one of the Spectator Hubs for the weekend."

Tickets for the Grand Départy cost £50 for a family of four, or £20 each, from ticketline.co.uk, experiencetherace.com and from Visit York in Museum Street, York.