Tom Jones, Simple Minds, Il Divo and Lionel Richie at this year's Marbella Starlite Festival

FAMOUS national and international bands and solo artists have confirmed their presence at this year's Starlite Festival in Marbella, one of the most eagerly-attended on the Costa del Sol over its decade of life.

So far, Welsh-born crooner Tom Jones, '80s indie-rockers Simple Minds, and soul legend Lionel Richie are definites, as are the multi-lingual modern opera band Il Divo and Colombian reggaetón star Maluma.

Earlier, top 40 chart-hoggers Aitana, David Bisbal, Antonio Orozco, Rosario, Miguel Ríos and Rozalén, and Spain's answer to Cliff Richard, Raphael, confirmed their slots.

Other pre-bookings include Alan Parsons, Passenger, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Antonio José, Magán, Taburete, Pablo López, Ozuna, Sebastián Yatra, José Luis Perales, Ara Malikian, Tomatito, Carlos Rivera, and the Murcia-born early-2000s rock duo Estopa, made up of the Muñoz brothers and whose soulful hits were on constant heavy rotation on mainstream radio at the beginning of the century.

This week, Basque-based modern veterans La Oreja de Van Gogh – a fivesome never off the radio in the first 10 years of the Millennium – have confirmed they will be performing at Starlite on June 25.

With over 20 years of churning out hits replete with thought-provoking, introspective lyrics, the band survived a split and a new lead singer; front woman Amaia Montero left in early 2008 to pursue a solo career, and the four boys had to recruit a new vocalist who would be 'acceptable' to fans – Leire Martínez's voice, however, sounded so close to Amaia's that the transition proved easy and she went on to produce hit albums and win awards with Xabier San Martín, Pablo Benegas, Haritz Garde and Álvaro Fuentes just as before.

Also this week, Míriam Rodríguez and Cepeda – the latest generation of Spanish artists – have confirmed they will be performing on July 15, and Sevilla-born vocalist Beret, an up-and-coming urban pop-cum-hip hop sensation, is a definite for his slot on June 26.

Global legends Tom Jones, Il Divo, Lionel Richie and Simple Minds will be performing on July 8, July 7, July 27, and July 31 respectively.

On each day of the festival, doors open at 20.00, when ticket-holders can enter the Starlite Lounge and wine, dine and enjoy the support acts, then the main concerts start at 22.00 and the Starlite Disco begins at midnight.

It is the only disco in the world that takes place in a quarry, and carries on until 06.00 in the morning.

Two buses will be run from the car park to make access easier, given the somewhat unusual location of this globally-renowned festival, although parking passes for those who want to use their own vehicles can be bought at the same time as entries to the concerts.

The highly-acclaimed venue is an open mine shaped like a natural rocky amphitheatre, out in the countryside and with excellent acoustics.

Running from June 17 to August 28 this year, the Starlite has always attracted huge names – in past editions, Julio Iglesias, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martín, Andrea Bocelli and Alejandro Sanz have graced the Marbella stage, opting to give their only Spain-based concerts of the year at the popular festival.

Entries are now on sale via Ticketmaster, but will be limited in number as social distancing and all other anti-Covid procedures will need to be followed to ensure the festival is able to go ahead.