River Festival brought in ten million quid, says council

THE RETURN of Liverpool’s River Festival has been hailed a massive success after attracting almost three times as many people as organisers thought, according to Liverpool City Council. 

Around 140,000 people converged on the waterfront for the various festivities, bringing £10m into the city's economy over the week, it claims.

The number of visits smashed the predictions of organisers who originally estimated around 50,000 people would spend time at the Pier Head, enjoying the free activities on offer from 8-15 September. 

MaculaHighlights such as the visit by liners Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 attracted tens of thousands of people. 

A fleet of Tall Ships, the free Beverley Knight concert, the exciting finale of the P1 Powerboats Superstock Championships, food and drink markets and an air display by the Yakovlevs Display Team also proved to be extremely popular, it says.

The economic impact of 2011’s On the Waterfront series of events will be looked at in-depth over the next few months. 

The council’s culture and tourism person, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “The popularity of the River Festival has exceeded our expectations and I’m delighted so many people showed their support for the return of this event by turning up in their thousands."

July’s Reflection on the Waterfront which saw the Macula spectacular transform the Liver Building and the new Museum of Liverpool, attracted 60,000 over just three nights. 

The figures dwarf last year’s On The Waterfront series of events which brought in £1.2 million to the city’s economy and this year’s events were funded by Liverpool City Council in partnership with European Regional Development Funding. 

2011 is the fist time the city has hosted an official River Festival event since scrapping it 2005.