It’ll be a blast at Redcar
Next Saturday (19 February), exactly one year to the day since the mothballing of Redcar's Corus blast furnace (pictured), a Fire and Steel Festival will reignite Redcar's skies. The highlight will be the illumination of the blast furnace from three nine metre high lighting towers simultaneous to the blazing of a 20 foot sculpture created by local artists.
Thai-owned Sahaviriya (SSI) Steel is on the brink of re-opening the blast furnace, adding an extra dimension to the celebration of the steelmaking tradition of the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland and of Teesside.
Redcar Corus blast furnace was the largest blast furnace in Europe when it opened in 1979 and remained the largest blast furnace in the UK until its mothballing in February 2010.
The festival was the brainchild of boxing coach/social entrepreneur Frankie Wales, who said the celebration "will be both a beacon of hope and a proud tribute to our heritage" and secret millionaire Davil Jamilly who added that it was "another fine example of the strength of character and sense of community the people of Teesside share".
