Thousands expected at Oasis gig

Extra transport arrangements are in place for the concert

More than 50,000 fans are expected to descend on Sunderland's Stadium of Light to watch Oasis play on Wednesday.

It is the second major music coup for the venue in a week - last weekend Take That played to 160,000 fans.

Oasis, fronted by Burnage-raised brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, are playing Sunderland as part of their Dig Out Your Soul world tour.

Metro is putting on extra trains to ferry travellers and organisers are not expecting any major problems.

Ken Scott, Chairman of the Stadium's safety advisory group, said plans were in place to avoid a repeat of the Take That concert, when some fans had to wait a while to get into the Stadium.

He said: "We will be speeding up the process of putting on wrist bands to identify those with reserved seats.

"We are also bringing in extra queuing lanes to speed up entry to the Stadium."

Fantastic night

Hew Lewis, spokesman for Metro operator Nexus, said the North East coped well with large-crowd events.

"We've worked very closely with police, with the Stadium and the City Council, and the real key is having lots of managers on the ground to talk to each other, make decisions and move people around.

"People accept that there will be queues - it is a massive show at a massive venue - but the important thing is to keep people moving.

"Everyone will be well looked after and have a fantastic night."