Kevin Bacon Tells ‘Footloose’ High School Students He’s Attending Their Prom: “I Gotta Come!”

Kevin Bacon is all set to relive some cinematic nostalgia by attending a real-life prom at the age of 65.

The star announced to a massive throng of high school students that he would be making an appearance at Payson High School’s final prom in Payson, Utah, this year. Now, this isn’t just any high school that the actor has picked out. It’s the very same school where his iconic movie Footloose was filmed back in 1984.

Kevin made the announcement on Friday to the high schoolers after the students launched a full-fledged social media campaign dubbed #BacontoPayson, where they called for the actor to visit their high school before its scheduled relocation at the end of the school year. Students recreated movie scenes and choreographed videos to get the Mystic River actor’s attention.

The students of Payson High School in Utah launched a #BacontoPayson campaign to get the actor’s attention

Image credits: Payson High School

Even Utah Gov. Spencer Cox joined in on the campaign and asked the actor in November to join the celebrations, marking the 40th year of Footloose’s release.

In a video recorded last November, the Utah governor said, “We are so excited that next year will be 40 years of Footloose. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, I was eight when it came out and we loved it – Utah has never been the same.”

After the #BacontoPayson campaign made the rounds on the internet, Kevin made a delightful announcement to the school’s students and said he would be joining them for prom.

Kevin Bacon surprised the high schoolers and announced that he would be attending their prom

“I have been so impressed with everything that’s been going on there with this crazy idea to get me to come back,” he said during a video call with the students. “I’ve been amazed at the work that all of you have been putting into this, with the musical and the flash mobs and the re-creations.”

“It’s really inspirational, so thank you. Thank you. And I’m gonna come. I gotta come!” Kevin said.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the actor’s iconic film Footloose

The actor will be attending the prom as part of his work with his foundation, SixDegrees.org, which “supports impactful initiatives to sustain and enrich local communities,” according to their website.

“We’ve worked so hard this year and done our absolute best to make this crazy dream a reality,” said Payson High School Student Body President Rubie Raff after Kevin’s announcement. “I can’t believe that it’s finally happening and that we can say we did it! It was all worth it—we got Kevin back to Payson!”