Since 2009 four major concerts have been held at the Stadium of Light, with each one being hailed a great success for the Club and the city of Sunderland.

Pop superstars Take That kicked off their 2009 UK tour at the Stadium of Light, playing back to back shows in order to meet the huge demand for tickets and rock legends Oasis followed, playing to a massive crowd on four days later.

Close to 160,000 people attended the three events in the summer of 2009, bringing a significant boost to the city's economy and helping to put Sunderland on the map as a major concert venue.

SAFC Chairman Niall Quinn said: "The three shows have been absolutely tremendous. The hard work and dedication shown by everyone at the club to ensure the concerts ran smoothly has been incredible. The profile of both the Club and the city can only benefit by such large-scale events and we thank Take That and Oasis, along with the promoters SJM for giving Sunderland the chance to show what we can do."

Rob Ballantine, Director, SJM Concerts added: "The Stadium has hosted three phenomenal gigs and it's a credit to the team at Sunderland that they were such a great success. The shows proved a huge challenge logistically but the coordination of the team here at Sunderland has been the best of any we have worked with in the UK.

He continued: "The venue is clearly a big hit with fans as the strong ticket sales demonstrated. Every facility they want is there and, after some adjustments, the city traffic plan stood up very well. Both Take That and Oasis enjoyed playing to such passionate fans and it bodes well for more acts to come and play outdoors in the North East."

Click here to see photos of Oasis at the Stadium of Light.

Take a look at our exclusive gallery of Take That kicking off their 2009 tour at the Stadium of Light.

In 2010, US songstress Pink's kicked off the UK leg of her Summer Carnival tour, to tens of thousands of music fans who packed the home of the Black Cats to see a musical spectacular.

The chart-topper opened the show by dropping spectacularly from a box suspended above the crowd, before blasting through a series of hits and finishing dramatically by soaring across the audience on a high wire.

Click here for a gallery of Pink's visit to the SoL.

Club officials and partners across the city, including safety officials from Sunderland City Council and members of the emergency services, have spoken highly of Friday's show after months of planning came to fruition without incident.

Steve Walton, SAFC chief executive, said: "It was a memorable evening and a terrific show. I'm sure thousands of music fans have left very happy.

"It was a huge coup to secure such a prestigious tour. It was really important as a club and as a city to build on the success of last year's events and we are delighted that we have done that in what has been a relatively quiet year in terms of acts touring. It sets us up very well for next summer."

Barrie Marshall, Managing Director of concert promoter Marshall Arts said: "We are really excited to have started the Summer Tour in Sunderland. Audiences in the North East rock like no other audiences and it means that everywhere else Pink performs they will have to rock even harder.

Ken Scott, chair of Sunderland City Council's Safety Advisory Group (SAG), said: "Once again the people of the city and our region come out in their thousands to support the event, proving their appetite to support major events in the city.

" It's simply our job to do the work to make this happen and tens of thousands of smiling faces let us know that we're on the right track. The benchmark had been set extremely high last year but everyone there last night will testify that the level has been reached again and the work starts now for next year."