Nottingham has cemented its position as the UK’s festival city in October, following a successful festival month in 2015 which saw more than half a million people attending major events and festivals across the city.
With huge numbers at events including Goose Fair, the Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival and GameCity Festival, and successful new events such as the Spiegel Tent in Old Market Square, the Canal Festival and Oktoberfest, the festival month of October has been announced a resounding success by event organisers and promoting partners Nottingham City Council and Experience Nottinghamshire.
A national marketing campaign was undertaken by Nottingham City Council and Experience Nottinghamshire, thanks to additional funding committed by Nottingham City Council to increase the economic impact of major events and festivals in Nottingham during October, and this will extend to a similar campaign of promotion and special events for October 2016.
Highlights for the festival month of October included:
- 410,000 people attended Nottingham’s famous Goose Fair, the highest number for 20 years (a 13% increase on visitor numbers in 2014).
- The Spiegel Tent visited Nottingham for the first time, hosting a programme of music, theatre, dance and entertainment, a complete sell-out with more than 7,000 visitors to the tent during the five days it was open.
- The Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival enjoyed another successful year, with thousands of people attending, sold out pre-sales for tickets on the Friday and Saturday, and more than 1,200 cask ales on offer.
- Thousands of revellers enjoyed the Hockley Hustle music festival, taking place at more than 20 venues in Nottingham and raising £15,000 for local charities.
- Oktoberfest took place at Nottingham’s Forest Recreation Ground for the first time, with 5,500 people attending, 10,000 litres of beer and 2,500 bratwurst consumed.
Councillor Dave Trimble, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at Nottingham City Council, said: “Our aim for October was to put culture and events at the heart of what we offer as a city. This was promoted with a national advertising campaign in order to attract more visitors and boost the local economy. We’re so pleased that we met our goal of over half a million people attending events in the city, and we’re already planning for 2016. Thanks to all of the partners across the city who got involved throughout October to make it such a success.”
Jennifer Spencer, chief executive of Experience Nottinghamshire, said: “Nottingham’s reputation as a destination city for great events has been further cemented thanks to the success of the October festival programme and national marketing campaign this year. We’re looking forward to building on this success in 2016, as we work with our partners across the city to attract event more visitors to Nottingham for the fantastic festivals and events in October.”
Experience Nottinghamshire had more than 218,000 visits to its October event pages throughout October, and the Nottingham Tourism Centre also had a 16% increase in visits year on year, reflecting the increase in visitors to the city throughout the festival month.
The success of the events was reflected in overnight stays at hotels across the city, with members of the Nottingham Hospitality Association reporting October as a very busy month.
Richard Johal, Chairman of the Nottingham Hospitality Association and General Manager of the St James Hotel, said: “Our hotel members across the city have reported a very successful October, with many weekends seeing the majority of hotels at capacity. There was a real buzz across the city with so many major events and festivals taking place, and we’re looking forward to seeing the success build in 2016.”
Find out more at: www.experiencenottinghamshire.com/october
A selection of photos from October 2015 festivals and events is available for download here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zu0p07t74fov4de/AACj3kCzdKoK7iEnKalC4-i0a?dl=0