It wasn't exactly a rock 'n' roll extravaganza, but O2 in the Park was a gas day out for all the family. Yesterday's free outdoor concert in the Phoenix Park was aimed squarely at younger music fans - the kind who would shriek with excitement at the very mention of Six, Darius or Samantha Mumba.
There were rock acts on the bill too but they played second fiddle to the Pop Stars and Pop Idols who strutted their well-choreographed stuff on the day.
The weather was cloudy but mild, with the sun making the odd guest appearance and the rain washing away early in the day.
The event was organized by mobile phone company O2 in conjunction with 2FM, and more than 100,000 people applied for tickets through the O2 website, the 2FM website, and via text message. Not all 100,000 turned up at the same time, however, so overcrowding was not a problem.
Families with small children mingled comfortably with starry-eyed teenagers, and it all resembled a pleasant picnic in the Park - with added star quality.
Alcoholic drink was banned from the concert and, although backstage guests could avail of a free bar, the queue for ice-cream was far longer than the queue for beer.
Gardaí were pleased that the day passed with little or no incident.
Nearly 30 acts appeared onstage, each playing just two or three of their best-known tunes, so children's attention spans weren't too heavily taxed.
To allow for quick changeovers between sets, most of the acts sang live over backing tapes, while others lip-synched over their hit records. Some of the rock bands confessed that they found it weird not to be playing completely live, but they all agreed that it was a bit of a lark - and good exposure too. As for the kids, they didn't care if it was live - all that mattered was that their idols were up there in the flesh.
"It's a brilliant day out," said Ms Marian Paisley, of Ayrfield in Donaghmede, who was in attendance with her eight-year-old daughter, Stacey. "There was plenty of variety, so the kids didn't get bored at all."
Ms Geraldine Kelly, who brought her family down from Cavan, concluded that it was a great day out for the kids.
Firm favourites on the day were Six, the band spawned by the Irish version of PopStars, and Darius, who lost out on the British version of PopStars but is now enjoying his first Number One hit.
Others that went down well with the crowd included Irish girl-group Bellefire, Irish singer Carly Hennessey, and former Five member Abs. Samantha Mumba was joined by younger brother Omero, but these star siblings were later upstaged by rock singer David Kitt and younger brother Robbie.
Lulu was the oldest star on the day but she still had enough youthful vigour to get the crowd singing along to Shout, and she cut a dash with Ronan Keating for a duet of We've Got Tonight. The former Boyzone star rang in the teatime bell with his hits Lovin' Each Day and Life Is A Rollercoaster.
The families began filing out to the sound of rock acts Turn, Mundy and The Devlins. Juliet Turner closed the day with her hit Take The Money And Run.
