Zoo music festival ready to begin

The Port Lympne site is home to many rare and endangered species

A three-day music festival at a zoo in Kent will begin on Friday.

Zoo Thousand and Eight (ZOO8) at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, near Ashford, will feature more than 100 live acts and is expected to draw 20,000 fans.

The event, which runs from July 4-6, will host acts such as Mark Ronson, Dizzee Rascal, Athlete, The Cribs and Funeral For A Friend.

Festival organisers have given money from ticket sales to the Aspinall Foundation, which runs the park.

Their £30,000 donation was used to care for a baby monkey which was rejected at birth and has now been nicknamed Baby Ronnie after event headliner Mark Ronson.

'Endangered species'

Festival director Matt Dice said: "We look forward to welcoming the best names in live music to our beautiful site at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park for a weekend of fun."

The Port Lympne site is home to one of the largest breeding herd of black rhinos outside Africa, Siberian and Indian tigers, African elephants, and other rare and endangered species.

Speaking after the launch of the festival in March, Tricia Corkhill, spokeswoman for the park, said the event would not harm the animals.

She said: "We have had festivals here before. We had a music festival last year. They're held on grassland outside the park.

"They're not actually in the park with the animals. We have got rather a lot of land."

Festival-goers will be able to visit the animal park for a reduced price.