Events
The Common is now a popular outdoor concert venue for the Halifax region. With its central location, it has direct walking access (approx. five to ten minutes walking east on Cogswell Street or Rainnie Drive) to Downtown Halifax and the Barrington Street Metro Transit public transit terminal, with services providing connections to the rest of the city, the Halifax harbour ferry connecting with Downtown Dartmouth and Woodside, as well as the new Bus Rapid Transit service MetroLink. During these shows, concert express and shuttle buses run directly to and from Common Park from various locations and are designated to operate along with the regular service Metro Transit offers.
| Date | Event Name | Performers | Event Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Royal Visit | Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales | est. 30,000–40,000 |
| 1984 | Papal Visit | Pope John Paul II | 80,000 |
| September 23, 2006 | A Bigger Bang Tour | Rolling Stones, Kanye West, Alice Cooper, Sloan | 55,000 |
| August 30, 2008 | Country Rocks 2008 | Keith Urban, Charlie Major, Johnny Reid, Aaron Pritchett, Gretchen Wilson, Jimmy Rankin, Great Big Sea |
paid attendance 11,853 |
| July 11, 2009 | Paul McCartney Live on the Common | Paul McCartney, Joel Plaskett, Wintersleep, Sierra Noble | paid attendance of 26,504 |
| July 18, 2009 | Halifax Rocks 2009 | KISS, Thornley, The Trews, Econoline Crush, The Novaks, Children of Eve, Frankie Whyte | paid attendance of 21,402}} |
| June 24–28, 2010 | Grand Chief Membertou 400 (Mawiomi Pow-wow) & Royal Visit | Royal Visit by Queen Elizabeth II, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Schedule of events | Unknown |
| July 24, 2010 | Halifax Rocks 2010 | The Black Eyed Peas, Weezer, Classified, Hot Hot Heat, Rich Aucoin, The Jimmy Swift Band, The Stanfields, Chad Hatcher | paid attendance of 8,362 |
| August 6 & 7 2010 | Country Rocks 2010 | Aug 6: Johnny Reid, George Canyon, One More Girl Aug 7: Alan Jackson, Billy Currington, Kevin Costner and Modern West, Lonestar | - |
| January 15, 16 2011 | Canadian Masters Championships | Canada Games Oval | - |
| February 11 - 27, 2011 | 2011 Canada Games. | Canada Games Oval- long track speed skating competitions . | - Future- |
- Notes
- Pre-2000
- In 1983, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales were greeted by a large crowd on the Common during a visit to Halifax.
- In 1984, 80,000 faithful attended a service by Pope John Paul II at the Common.
- 2006
- The Rolling Stones played on the Common as part of their A Bigger Bang Tour. It was the largest concert the city has ever undertaken at the time, and a test-run for more concerts in the future. With an attendance of approx 55,000, the event was considered a success.
- 2009
- June/July 2009: In preparation for the upcoming events season on the Common, the City of Halifax invested a great amount of effort and money into preparing the Common for the concerts and future events. Ground preparation, amenities, grass seeding were all part of the effort to cut down on damaging effects from heavy equipment and foot traffic during the large events.
- July 11, a performance by Paul McCartney drew a reported crowd of 50,000 to the Common.
- 2010
- Grand Chief Membertou is a 4 day event held to celebrate the life and inspiration of Mi'kmaq saqamaw Henri Membertou.
- Queen Elizabeth II's Royal visit to Canada began in Halifax and during her first afternoon in the city had stopped at the Common to experience and take part in the Membertou 400 celebration.
- Halifax Rocks 2010 was originally to be a 2 day music festival held on the Common, however due to reasons not released by the concert promoter, the Friday concert, featuring Kid Rock and The Counting Crows had been cancelled. However The Jimmy Swift Band and The Stanfields were added to the Saturday bill.
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