A fundraising event for the upkeep of the Piper Alpha memorial in Aberdeen will be held 30 years on from the North Sea disaster.
A total of 167 men were killed after explosions ripped through the Piper Alpha rig, which was located 120miles north-east of Aberdeen, in July 1988.
The 167 Souls concert will feature music from a collection of Aberdeen’s Soul and Scooter Club DJs, while Scottish music producer Keb Darge is expected to attend as a special guest.
The event will be held on July 7 at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen and around 700 tickets are available.
More than £2,000 has been raised through the event’s JustGiving page, but £30,000 is being targeted.
Graeme Webster, a rig electrician, now project coordinator at Dron and Dickson, is organising the event.
He joined Grampian Police just a few months before the disaster struck on July 6, 1988.
He said all donations would be passed to the Pound for Piper Memorial Trust, which was set up in 2012 to raise funds for the maintenance of the memorial in Hazlehead Park.
Mr Webster said: “One of the things people do not realise is how Piper Alpha affected the wider community − the police, in my case, and the emergency services. After all these years, I’m still emotionally affected.
“It’s never left me, even though I’ve left the police, and I’ve always been mindful of the anniversary coming up.
“167 people died and the least we can do as a community is to keep the memorial in good condition in their memory.”
Mr Webster said he has immense respect for the volunteers in charge of the trust.
He said the memorial should be preserved as much as any other site in the Granite City.
Carol Banks, one of the memorial trust’s founders, said the 167 Souls event was a “fantastic” idea and pledged “100% support” to Mr Webster.
Ms Banks said: “It’s Graeme’s event but we will be there. Any help he needs, we are right there with him.”
She added: “167 people lost their lives and what we have gained from that is safety offshore.
“Everyone going offshore should know the sacrifice those men made.”
Tickets cost £15 and can be purchased via the 167 Souls JustGiving page. Delivery can be arranged by leaving a personal message on the page, or on the 167 Souls Facebook page.
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