By Rachael Grealish

Porsche South Lakes has confirmed they will return as partners for Whitehaven Alive 2023 festival weekend.

Whitehaven Alive announced the partnership in a social media post in which Porsche’s marketing manager, Richard Smith, said they’re making a return after they ‘really enjoyed’ working with the team on the festival last year.

Richard said: “The Porsche Centre South Lakes family really enjoyed working with Oliver and his team last year on the inaugural Whitehaven Alive festival.

“A first event for a young team who pulled off a successful and well-attended event and so we are really looking forward to continuing that relationship in 2023, for what should be an even bigger and better affair.

The Porsche South Lakes marketing manager went on to say although they’re based in the south of the county they ‘serve the whole of Cumbria and so it is great to have such a successful event that we can support and be a part of located in Whitehaven’.

The news the car dealership will return as an automotive partner comes not long after two executive directors were appointed to the Alive Entertainment Group – the organisers of the festival – and the first headliners were announced.

Indie legends The Vaccines and Jake Bugg will be the Saturday night headliners of the Mitie main stage.

Oliver Hodgson dounder and executive director of Platinum Live and the Alive Entertainment Group, said: “It’s brilliant to see our line-up start to come together for this year’s Whitehaven Alive festival, last year’s inaugural event was a great success for the area, and we’re really looking forward to building on that for 2023.

“The artists we’re pulling into the town across the weekend are incredible and will provide a much bigger platform for all the local talent that’ll also be joining headliners on the Mitie Main Stage.”

At the beginning of this year, Oliver went into partnership with the seasoned festival organisers Liz Cannon and Danny Maudling – who for over a decade were part of the team behind the Boof Festivals and have now joined the team as executive directors of the Alive Entertainment Group.