THE owner of Adventure Island is again leading the way in extending the summer season and increasing revenue for seafront businesses.

Philip Miller has introduced the Big Saturday Night Out featuring a wide variety of tribute acts, every Saturday right up to November 6.

The events are supported with the park’s striking illuminations and a spectactular weekly fireworks display, starting again on October 2.

Mr Miller said: “The illuminations and fireworks bring many visitors in to Southend, but purse strings are tight for many families this year.

“As Adventure Island is a free admission fun park, nobody has to pay to enjoy the Big Saturday Night Out.

“For us it is a chance to give back something to our regular visitors, while also attracting new people to come and see the fantastic things Southend seafront has to offer.”

All the acts will be performing on the main stage, next to the Rage rollercoaster, starting at 7pm.

The tribute bands will bring to Southend the music of stars like Abba, Girls’ Aloud, Take That, Michael Jackson, Kylie, and Hannah Montana.

Visitors to the popular Southend theme park will also love the additional fun of giveaways and enjoy live sets from DJ Craig Burchell.

The illuminations, which Adventure Island say are bigger and better than ever, will have more than a hundred thousand lights creating a “magical atmosphere”.

And they will be environmentally friendly too, as the lights are designed to run on a lower wattage and last longer to reduce Adventure Island’s carbon footprint.