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Newark Festival 2020 is to move from mid-June to August Bank Holiday




One of Newark's biggest annual events will be moved to a bank holiday weekend in a bid to improve its attendance.

After a detailed debate by Newark Town Council's finance and general purposes committee, a decision to move Newark Festival 2020 from mid-June to the August Bank Holiday weekend was reached.

Approval also saw the festival's free family fun day ­— traditionally held on the Sunday ­— incorporated into the annual Brass Explosion.

But the decision did not clear the uncertainty around the long-term future of the festival, with the town council's contract with organisers Liz Hobbs Group Live reaching its final year in 2021.

Razorlight's Johnny Borrell. 150619DC1-41. (12436832)
Razorlight's Johnny Borrell. 150619DC1-41. (12436832)

And, should the council want to pull the plug on the festival, a decision would need to be made before June 2020.

The leader of the town council, Mr Dennis Jones, said: “The town council has undertaken a review of Newark Festival, which has been staged for the last seven years in conjunction with the Liz Hobbs Group at the Riverside Park.

"The festival has grown over the years and has become a fixture in the cultural calendar of the Town.

Sigma. (12463757)
Sigma. (12463757)

"It attracts many visitors and makes a positive contribution to the town's economy; however, the last two years has seen a significant fall in the number of people attending the free family Sunday.

"This element of the Festival weekend is paid for by the town council with a direct cost of £15,000.

"Following discussions with the Liz Hobbs Group it has been agreed to move the date of the Festival from mid-June to the August Bank Holiday weekend.

"This move will not change the Friday and Saturday concerts. An exciting line up for the 2020 Concerts will be announced shortly.

Sigma on stage. (12463770)
Sigma on stage. (12463770)

Liz Doogan-Hobbs MBE said: "The festival is a well established and integral part of Newark's entertainment programme for our community.

"We have incredible support from businesses locally, who all benefit from increased spend in the town during the festival, which is so very important in the current economic times.

"We are fully aligned with the councils view on Sunday entertainment, as well as in the ethos of the town councils programming.

Razorlight perform. 150619DC1-42. (12436833)
Razorlight perform. 150619DC1-42. (12436833)

"We view the move of the festival to August as a positive step, to enable more families to be able to enjoy the weekend with us and now Fathers Day is free just for our dads."

Clerk to the council, Mr Alan Mellor, said: “It became clear the Sunday was failing and it (the festival) would be better placed in August, most definitely.

"The following weekend in June was Armed Forces weekend and running two hugely significant events one after the other was a challenge for us.

"We spent £15,000 on entertainment on the Sunday, so if that stopped, it saves £15,000 to enhance what we do with the brass explosion.

“You can re-jig the day and start earlier. There is a lot more you can do if we had those resources available.

"You can get bigger, better nationally-recognised brass bands in, as well as more entertainment for children and families."

Razorlight's Johnny Borrell. 150619DC1-47. (12436837)
Razorlight's Johnny Borrell. 150619DC1-47. (12436837)

Elected members, Mr Dennis Jones and Mrs Rita Crowe echoed his comments.

"When we started the Sunday event it was a big thing, but it has completely dropped off," said Mr Jones.

Mrs Crowe said: “I would have suggested for the family fun day to go.

"It was appallingly attended last year and, as for this year, we didn’t even make it to the end. It was an absolute waste of time."

The council makes a £60,000 contribution to the festival, which has been staged for the past seven years.

It is organised by LHG Live, who orchestrated the change in date.

The council dedicates £15,000 to the cost of entertainers on the Sunday, with the remaining £45,000 to support Friday and Saturday events, and pay for the infrastructure to stay in place for the Sunday.

But despite the approval, which saw seven councillors vote in favour of changing the date and seven abstentions, a concern was the economic effects it would have on the town centre, with two of the town's largest events taking place over one weekend.

"If you have two events and amalgamate them into one, you have one," said Mr Max Cope.

"I am very keen on keeping a series of events running throughout the summer.

"What we are doing here is taking a big event away from that busy period.

"We are losing a weekend where the businesses in the town, particularly the night time economy, will suffer."

Mr David Lloyd said: "Most ticket sales were from Newark residents, but moving it to August would see lose us a university crowd to other festivals.

"It is a long line of additional visitors lost.

"There are a lot of festival around the August Bank Holiday and it is the last bank holiday until schools start.

"From an economic impact, I find this a hurried reaction.

"The aspiration was right from the civil war re-enactment to the bass explosion, something was happening at the weekend throughout summer.

"This is us losing a large event by combining it with a smaller event."

Mr Mathew Skinner proposed using the space vacated at Riverside Park on the Sunday in August to be used for an outdoor cinema, as the brass explosion takes place at the grounds of Newark Castle.



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