AROUND 20,000 people will descend on Ayr Racecourse this week for the annual three day William Hill Ayr Gold Cup Festival which gets under way on Thursday and runs through until Saturday.

Upwards of £5 million will be pumped into the local economy with hotels within a 15-mile radius of Ayr all putting up sold out signs while businesses like hairdressers, beauty salons, taxi companies, bars and restaurants will all enjoy one of their busiest weekends of the year. At the Racecourse itself more than 3,000 meals will be served in the various hospitality suites over the course of the Festival as racing fans from the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland make for the track. The busiest day will be Saturday when the iconic William Hill Ayr Gold Cup is run with £200,000 in prize-money. Friday is Ladies Day and after the racing X Factor and I’m A Celebrity star Fleur East will be performing a superb hour long DJ set. The singer, songwriter and rapper first shot to fame on the X Factor in 2014 when she became the first contestant on the show to hit number one on the UK iTunes Store Chart with her version of ‘Uptown Funk’.

Fleur finished runner-up on the X Factor and then enjoyed huge success with the platinum selling ‘Sax’ in 2015 which hit the top 3 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the top 10 for seven weeks, was certified Gold in the Netherlands and Australia , reached the top 10 in Mexico, was a number two in Costa Rica and topped the airplay charts in Hungary and Croatia. The success of ‘Sax’ continues to this day with the track hitting over 100 million streams on Spotify. Late last year, Fleur had a stint in the jungle on “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here” when she endeared herself to the viewing public and finished fourth. There are also Best Dressed Lady and Best Dressed Gents competitions on Friday with the winning lady bagging a four night break for two to the five star Hard Rock Tenerife courtesy of Stewart Travel and Jet2 Holidays.