Elvis fans celebrate anniversary of King's visit to Prestwick
3 Mar 2010-
Elvis fans have been marking the anniversary of his visit to Prestwick
Elvis fans from all over Scotland and beyond have been coverging on Prestwick to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the King's only visit to the UK on March 3rd 1960.
The highlight of the celebrations was a marathon 16-hour charity event at Prestwick Airport, concluding with the unveiling of a plaque to mark Elvis visit to Prestwick.
Elvis, who was 25 at the time of his visit and finishing a tour of duty as a sergeant in the US Army, stopped over at a US Air Force base at the airport at around 7.30pm on March 3 1960, on his way home to the US after he completed his military service in Germany. While his plane was refuelling, he met fans, the press and staff at the airport. When stepping down from the plane, he is reported to have said: "Where am I?"
All proceeds from the anniversary celebrations at the airport will go to the local children's charity Clic Sargeant.
You can read more memories of Elvis' visit to Prestwick here on the BBC website, with the thoughts of Ann Murphy (then Ann Sproat) who met the King that night.
There are more photos, and a report on the visit from the Evening Times here in the s1prestwick photo section.
UPDATE: You can see a short film about the anniversary here on the Daily Record website.
Do you remember Elvis' visit to Prestwick? Post your comments and photos here on s1prestwick
4 Mar 2010 | 9:48:19
Geoff Crolley says
We need to promote Prestwick, Ayrshire and Burns Corridor. The anniversary of the Elvis visit and the 251st anniversary of Burns birth, the opening soon of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, should have been creating much more interest than it has. How many extra visitors would south west Scotland have if the Ayrshire airport was named the "Robert Burns International"?