THE SOPHIE LANCASTER STAGE

Stamp - Out - Prejudice - Hatred + Ignorance - Everywhere

Bloodstock's 3rd Stage was renamed "The Sophie Lancaster Stage" in 2009 and will continue to be so for 2010, this is due to the huge support shown by the Bloodstock fans and the message this represents.  It is a fitting tribute to a young girl who was brutally attacked along with her boyfriend in 2007 while walking through her local park in Bacup, Lancashire. Sophie and her boyfriend were singled out not for anything they had said or done, but because they looked and dressed differently. Unfortunately Sophie later died in hospital following the injuries from this vicious and unprovoked attack. 

Bloodstock organiser Paul Gregory said "It is our hope that renaming the stage will help to keep Sophie's memory alive and raise awareness to our society that this kind of brutal behaviour will not be tolerated".

Sophie's family set up THE SOPHIE LANCASTER FOUNDATION. Through the Foundation they hope to provide training to professionals in order to raise awareness of the prejudice and violence faced by people from alternative subcultures. The foundation will develop and deliver workshops tackling these issues and challenging pre-conceptions. They will work towards offering advice and information to whoever may need it. This foundation will continue campaigning in the same dignified manner adhered to since the attack on Sophie and her boyfriend Rob though the S.O.P.H.I.E. Campaign.

Sophie's brother, Adam Lancaster said “What happened horrified more people then we could ever know, not just the attack but the pointlessness of it all. We thank you for your thoughts and wishes and look forward to being involved with Bloodstock."

For further information on the Sophie Lancaster Foundation go to: www.myspace.com/inmemoryofsophie