The band "Mumford and Sons" is playing in Dixon, Illinois on August 18th. It is part of the band's world tour and the Dixon concert is sold out. To prepare for the thousands of people that will be in Dixon, the city is letting the public know about the plan that will be in place the weekend of the concert.
"We are blessed to be part of a world tour here in Dixon, Illinois," says Josh Albrecht, Executive Director Josh Albrecht.
The community learned about preparations for the concert during an informational meeting.
"All of it is designed for the safety of our visitors and our residents," adds Albrecht.
When the band plays in Page Park, Dixon's population will double. The concert sold out in hours and15,000 people will fill the venue. Another 5,000 will be downtown where the band will play at different spots. With so many people in town, streets will be closed, camp grounds will be set up and shuttle busses will be the main form of transportation.
"Every imaginable aspect that you can imagine going into a festival has been planned," says Albrecht, "It's been non-stop since we found out in late March."
Having so many people filter into Dixon means big bucks. The state tourism office estimates the city will make $1.5 million.
"I can pretty much guarantee that's never happened before," says Albrecht, "$1.5 million coming into to our town in one weekend is astronomical for us."
Since the event is so big, thousands of police officers, sheriff's deputies and private security will be all over town. The cost for just the Dixon Police Department is $30,000. The production company will pay a huge chuck of the security bill, but the city has to pay some of it. To finance security costs people going downtown will pay a $3 entry fee.
"It's going to be a huge benefit for our city," says Albrecht.
Any extra money the city makes will go to charities and non-profits in town. The band and production company will also make a donation.
The city applied back in January to host a famous band. Dixon officials took the production company on a tour of the city and in March Dixon found out they were one of eight American cities apart of the tour.
