Westlife will strut out on a Norfolk stage for the first time in the majestic setting of the National Trust-owned Blickling Hall on Saturday 15 July 2006. Around 10,000 tickets sold out within two days for the picnic concert being held near Aylsham in north Norfolk. The boy band will re-tread the footsteps of their former manager Ronan Keating, who performed at the venue earlier this year. The quartet have topped the UK charts 13 times since breaking into the pop world in 1999 and they are being tipped for the hotly-contested Christmas number one slot with their Diana Ross duet. Blickling Hall events manager Shirley Donovan said she was delighted they had been able to book the top-selling band, who boast a loyal following. "They appeal to everyone and they're looking for a Christmas number one so we've got them at a good time," she said. For the first time, the venue is setting up big screens which will flank the stage for the show. Louis Walsh's protégés are the first name to be announced for the county's series of open-air gigs which has become an annual highlight in music lovers' calenders. Last summer Meat Loaf, Will Young and Daniel Bedingfield formed part of the Norfolk's star-studded line-up of concerts. Blickling Hall will disclose the rest of their bookings after the New Year, while concert organisers at Thetford Forest expect to reveal the identity of one of their big-name guests before Christmas. The Forestry Commission's Anne Embry said, "The first of the names is planned to be announced on 12 December." | 
