Hull's Freedom Festival Generates £4m For Local Economy
That's according to a new report.
This year's Freedom Festival in Hull generated over £4m for the local economy.
The 3-day arts and culture event, which was held in September and featured around 200 artists, attracted more than 114,000 people to the city.
A new report out today also found that almost all who attended this year plan to return to the festival in 2016.
The new research found that:
• Almost all respondents rated the festival highly, with 82% giving a rating of at least 7 out of 10
• 89% of respondents said that the festival ‘made them feel good’
• ‘Atmosphere’ and ‘people’ were cited as favourite elements of the three-day event (‘the weather’ was the most cited response when people were asked about the worst aspects)
• 93% of respondents said that the festival gave them the chance to experience arts and culture that they wouldn’t otherwise see
• 88% said Freedom Festival had encouraged them to attend similar activities or events afterwards
Of this year’s attendees, 57% were from Hull, 29% from East Riding and 14% from further afield – similar numbers to 2014. The number of visitors from outside of Yorkshire and the Humber region continues to increase, from 2% in 2013 to 6% in 2015.
Organisers are now looking ahead to next year’s festival which is to be held on 2nd-4th September and is the first with new Chief Executive and Artistic
Director Mikey Martins at the helm. Mikey said:
“We’re entering an exciting new phase for the festival; we’re currently busy planning for next year and hope to reveal some initial programme news at the start of 2016.
“We always want to hear what the audience thinks of the festival. Respondents this year have told us they want to see more street theatre, more ‘spectacular’ and more art installations. We know how much people expect from the festival and we’re excited to be challenging ourselves to surpass expectation next year.”
Councillor Terry Geraghty, Hull City Council said:
“As key supporters of Freedom Festival, it’s fantastic to hear how its impact continues to widen, eight years after the first event. The festival continues to provide a huge boost to Hull and has led the way in recent years - demonstrating what can be achieved and created through arts and culture - as we head towards 2017.”