The crowd were jumping, the music was pumping, and the screams were deafening. And this was before the concert ever started!!!!!! A camera man and interviewer were going around grabbing views from the concert goers (including yours truly, watch out for me on Turkish TV!!). Chants of "We want Westlife , We want Westlife" filled the room, as the deep sexy Olympia Voice (who IS that man?) counted down the final minutes to the concert.

Touching on 15 minutes late, Twink and Marty Whelan, our hosts for the evening stepped on stage, and made the first of their desperate pleas for silence from the crowd. It was clear who the loudest people in the venue were, -- definitley the Westlife fans! The sheer mention of their names sent the crowd into a frenzy, and this resulted in Westlife being given the alias, " The W-band" for the rest of the evening!!!!!!!!

After a quick introduction bilingually in English and Turkish, Peter Smith took to the stage, with his dancers, who put on a powerful performance of 5ive's "Everybody get up". This really got the crowd going!!! He was followed on stage by a dance troop who performed Britney Spears' "Baby one more time". They were absolutley amazing, and they were all aged around 10-14 years!! Other acts included a Michael Jackson impersonator, who flew in all the way from Turkey to take part in the concert, the "Dizzy Kids", an amazing group of 9 year olds, and a six year old who are flying off to Cairo soon to take place in an international childrens contest.

DUSTIN the turkey made an appearance, which REALLY sent the crowd wild, even if he DID sing a Christmas song in October!!) Soon it was time for AREA 4 , and they were absolutely BRILLIANT!! They sang 3 songs, the first being "Talk Time" then their forthcoming (OCTOBER 29th) single "SCREAM" (get out there and buy it) Their finale was a cover of the Kink's song "You Got Me Going" and the whole Olympia was jumping , screaming and singing along with them!!!! The dancing was absolutely terrific-- and even featured backflips and breakdancing!!!! AREA 4 looked fantastic in their Orange and Black outfits, and multicoloured hair, and are SURE to be a hit --SO REMEMBER IT!!

AREA 4 were followed on stage by Irish dancers, who were brilliant, but toned down the excitement that had just built up. It was then time for the interval, and upon return, "Michael Jackson" graced the stage, with his long mix of songs, incorporating "History", "Beat it", and "Bad". He was followed by a number of acts and dance routines, a flute player, and a performance from the youngest member of Ireland's answer to the Von Trapp Family, Naomi Lynch, (youngest sister of Edele, Keavy and Shane Lynch) who sang a fantastic accapella, and then launched into her version of Britney Spears' "Crazy" it was a fantastic performance from her and her dancers. (See the picture to the right!!)

Linda Martin, one of Ireland's Eurovision Winners came to the stage then, in a rather 'flattering' green dress, and sang a number of songs, including her Eurovision Winning Hit Song, " Why Me" by special request to Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne from WESTLIFE . The crowd went wild at the sheer mention of their names, and got even worse when they realised Mark and Nicky were standing at the side of the stage, watching Linda sing!!!! As Linda left the stage, she announced that the wait was finally over, but first the crowd would have to wait for the draw to take place!!

The screams got louder and louder. Westlife finally walked on stage, and the girls were melting with the excitment. Banners were being thrown at the stage, along with birthday cards for Nicky Byrne (Happy Birthday Nicky) and about a million Mc Donalds toys!!!! The Westlife guys picked up the toys and looked at them, read the banners, and read their cards-- Bryan even stuck a lollipop he was given into his mouth!!! This interaction with the Audience truly made the night special for the girls, which I thought was wonderful, as it will not be long before these guys will be untouchable!!! They sang about 7 songs, among them the uptempo "If I let you go", the soulful "Swear it again" and their Forthcoming sure-to-be-hit "Flying without wings"!! They made the audience sing Happy Birthday to Nicky, and then later when Dustin the Turkey came along to say hello, they sang happy birthday once more, and Dustin joined them for a version of "If I let you go"!! And he fit in perfectly..... maybe he COULD make it as the 6th member of Westlife after all!!!???? (exclusive Westlife pictures will be added to this site v. soon!!!)

Sadly then their time on stage was up. Twink was dragged out on stage by Bryan Mc Fadden who sang to her for If I let you go, and then he started bringing the whole cast out on stage. It was then time to thank all those involved, and they found it next to impossible to get some silence!!!!!! The crowd wouldn't listen to Twink when she asked them to be quiet, and she had to get some help from Shane Filan and the other Westlife guys to ask for silence!!!!!!!! "Please girls, please, just a minute, have some manners...." During the thank you's, someone threw a Mint Aero bar on to the stage, and Shane began to eat it!!!! Who needed manners after all????!!!!! Nicky saw this, and interupted Twink to ask for a piece, and the bar was being thrown around the stage!!!!!

Finally all the thank you's were said, and it was time to go home, but not without one final song. The whole cast were now on stage, and they all joined in for .................................. ?

It was an absolutley amazing concert, and in aid of a brilliant cause. A brilliant collection of Irish Pop Music, between young, old and those in between, proving that Ireland is a country full of musical talent, and the the world has not heard the last of our fair Isle yet!!!!!!!!!!