On a sunny afternoon in June Snow Patrol rewrote the history books — with the help of more than 40,000 fans.

Prior to Saturday's home-coming show the biggest gig ever staged in Northern Ireland was U2 at Botanic Gardens in 1997.

So it was with great pride that frontman Gary Lightbody told the record-breaking crowd that they had toppled the Dublin rockers off their perch.

“U2 played to 40,000 people but today we are playing to more,” said an emotional Lightbody.

“This makes this the biggest ever concert in Northern Ireland's history.”

From early afternoon much of Bangor came to a standstill for Snow Patrol's ‘second coming'. The band's faithful followers travelled by train, bus, car and foot to welcome the five-piece back to the resort, where they played to around 30,000 people in 2007.

The combination of Snow Patrol and sunshine meant spirits were high. Girls in maxi dresses and playsuits and boys in T-shirts and shorts gathered at Ward Park to listen to the warm-up acts, which included Magherafelt's General Fiasco, US rockers Band Of Horses and singer/songrwriter Lisa Hannigan. Three local acts — Robyn G Shiels, Cat Malojian and Cashier No 9 performed on the Guinness stage — were handpicked by Snow Patrol themselves.

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But it was the headliners that the crowd had really come to see and a massive cheer went up when Lightbody, drummer Jonny Quinn, lead guitarist Nathan Connolly, bassist Paul Wilson and keyboard player Tom Simpson took to the stage.

As dusk descended on Ward Park the band kicked off the concert with Open Your Eyes, followed by Take Back The City.

“This is a song about home,” Lightbody said, to deafening cheers.

Snow Patrol dipped into their back catalogue of songs, dating back to their third album — and first commercial success — Final Straw. With old favourites Run and Chasing Cars, the crowd took over vocal duties from Lightbody. The set list featured more recent material from their last album, A Hundred Million Suns, but they also gave fans a taste of things to come, debuting a new track called Big Broken.

During the show Lightbody dedicated a song to his three-year-old niece Honey, who looked on from the comfort of the VIP section. He also paid tribute to his parents Jack and Lynn for their relentless support and encouragement over the years and to the parents of all the band members.

“This is for all the mums and dads out there, be patient with your children,” he said.

Among the well-known faces at the gig was celebrity chef Paul Rankin, who was full of praise for the group.

“I can't get over how pitch perfect Gary Lightbody is. In some strange way I find their music deeply touching. Lightbody is a modern day poet.”

Also enjoying the show was Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer Jonny Evans, who said: “Snow Patrol are the best band in the world. People from here like to see their own doing well and we should be very proud of them.”

And there was mutual appreciation from Snow Patrol when Lightbody came out on stage towards the end of the show, wearing a Northern Ireland football top.

The singer name-checked Evans, much to the delight of the home crowd. As the concert approached its climax the frontman said: “We could go on playing all night, but we have to finish by 11pm.

Then he added: “Thank you for making this the best day of our lives. We will be back.” Following the encore songs You're All I Have and Just Say Yes, Snow Patrol's second Ward Park concert culminated with a spectacular fireworks display, which even the band stood back to watch from their side-of-stage vantage point.

Then more than 40,000 left Ward Park to begin their journey home, having just witnessed a little piece of history.