The premiere party for “The X Factor” U.K.’s ninth season is set to take place at the Corinthia Hotel in London on August 16, 2012. Many stars from the show are expected to be in attendance.
Little Mix, the show’s 2011 winner, will perform an acoustic set at the event, which will feature the stars doing media interviews and posing for photographs. According to The Sun, all of “The X Factor” U.K. judges will be there except for Gary Barlow, who is grieving over the death of his baby daughter Poppy. (As previously reported, Poppy was delivered stillborn in London on August 4, 2012.)
An “X Factor” U.K. spokesperson confirmed Barlow’s absence with this statement to the Mail Online (the Daily Mail’s website): “Due to personal circumstances Gary Barlow won’t be attending the press launch for ‘The X Factor’ this week but he has been in touch with production to wish everyone well.”
The show’s judges are Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh.
“The X Factor” U.K. host Dermot O’Leary and “The Xtra Factor” co-hosts Olly Murs and Caroline Flack are also expected to attend the party.
There has been speculation that other “X Factor” U.K. alumni could also be at the party, including One Direction, Leona Lewis, Marcus Collins, Aiden Grimshaw, Alexandra Burke and Amelia Lily. All of them are signed to Sony Music (the record-company partner of “The X Factor”) and they all have new music releases in 2012 to promote.
However, this annual media event typically does not have a lot of “X Factor” alumni attending since the show’s publicists want the media’s focus at the event to be on the show’s upcoming season, not past seasons.
“The X Factor” executive producer Simon Cowell will not be in attendance since he is busy working on “The X Factor” U.S.
“The X Factor” U.K.’s ninth season premieres August 18, 2012, on ITV1, at 8 p.m. British Summer Time.