Zoo Thousand and Eight
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
July 4-6
www.zoothousand.com

A number of top acts are to headline a music festival held in the grounds of a wildlife park, it has been announced.

Zoo Thousand and Eight (ZOO8) is being held at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, near Ashford, Kent, in July.

The event is expected to attract up to 20,000 revellers and will feature top acts such as Athlete, The Cribs and Funeral For A Friend.

The 600-acre site will also play host to many other bands and DJs including British Sea Power, Lethal Bizzle and Roni Size/Reprazent.

Zoo Thousand director Matt Dice said: "It has been a real triumph for us to secure such great artists for the first Zoo Thousand music festival.

"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."

Every ticket sold will include a donation to the Aspinall Foundation, the charity which owns both Port Lympne and Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury.

Port Lympne is home to the largest breeding herd of black rhinos outside Africa, as well as Siberian and Indian tigers, African elephants, monkeys, Barbary lions and many more rare and endangered species.

It also boasts the world's largest gorillarium, The Palace Of The Apes, which is home to a family of gorillas.

A spokeswoman for Port Lympne said that the animals would not be affected by the event as the festival will be taking place outside the confines of the zoo itself.