EUROVISION SONG INSPIRES NEW VENUE FOR CRE NORTH

[WHEN THE ORGANISERS of CRE heard the lyric in this year’s UK Eurovision entry, ‘Instead, I wrote a song...’, they took inspiration from it. Having had to relinquish the Liverpool venue of CRE North to make way for the competition, instead they moved to Manchester!

CRE owner Steve Goddard explained: “While we wish singer Mae Muller douze points galore, the song continually reminds us how we had to abandon CRE North 2023 when the venue was requisitioned for the contest.”

A year later than originally planned, on 15-16 May next year, CRE North will be the first at the new BEC Arena, just a mile from the Trafford Centre and recently-demolished Event City – the venue of the last CRE North, in 2019.

Alongside more than 180 organisations, exhibitors will be in the heart of the North West conurbation, at a venue offering easy access by road, rail and tram. And there’s free parking onsite to make exhibiting and visiting a pleasurable experience.

Stands are going fast: at the time of writing 25% had already been booked, so early booking is recommended. q maestro Roger Jones. Roger (pictured) will be bringing a Birmingham-based choir to the exhibition for a 50-minute performance of what is his sixth musical. To date he has 24 under his belt.

The musical has been performed in many parts of the world: including a memorable one in Jerusalem in 1983, the first of many trips Roger has made to the country. His vision for musicals began as head teacher at Aston Manor School in 1973. The school choir performed Jerusalem Joy – a performance he wrote around Jesus’s ride into the holy city on a donkey.

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact Carol Malpass on 0161 250 2467; email carol@creonline.co.uk, or James Batterbee on 0161 250 2306; email james@creonline.co.uk. q

• Tickets for the show, at £4 in advance or £3 for groups of three or more, are available from www.creonline.co.uk. Readers of Ecclesiastical and Heritage World can get a FREE ticket. Simply enter the discount code E+HWORLD in the appropriate box