CITY bosses have today unveiled plans for a massive 33-day long summer festival that could bring £6 million to Chester.
A number of new and regular events will now come under one banner – Chestival – aimed at transforming the city into a cultural hotbed.
Excited organisers hope that by bringing most of Chester’s summer events together it will create an unmissable attraction, making the city one of the top tourist destinations in Europe.
They also hope the festival season in the city could grow to rival cultural offerings in other major cities such as Manchester and Liverpool.
The scheme, which kicks off on June 11, and ends on July 14, is expected to attract an extra 100,000 visitors and bring £6 million boost to the local economy.
City management co-ordinator Stephen Wundke said: “This programme of events is about making a difference. When we have done lots of little things, people say that’s wonderful but actually individually these events don’t make a difference to everybody’s till. I want these events to affect everybody’s till.
“I want everyone who is a resident here to enjoy being in our city. That way everybody spends more in the city and it keeps people saying this is a really good place to live.”
Some of the events that are now part of the Chestival programme include Rhinomania, the Midsummer Watch giants parade, the World Town Crier Competition and Cycle Sunday.
In addition to the events, the area around the Town Hall will feature an outdoors continental market, as well as a permanent performance area, including a stage, bar, coffee shop and an outdoor seating area, during all four weeks of Chestival.
Night-time performances will take place in the newly-renovated Town Hall, at Chester Cathedral and the surrounding square, making the area a temporary cultural quarter.
Some of the organisations behind the drive include Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC), Chester Festivals, Chester Renaissance, Visit Chester and Cheshire and Chester Performs.
Chester Festivals director Tracy Lynn said: “It really is going to happen in 2010. This will be the largest co-ordinated programme of events ever in the history of Chester. We aim to bring 100,000 new visitors to Chester just for this event.”
She added: “There are four key weekends that have a family friendly focus. The majority of the weekend events will have a full family focus, helping the night-time economy, helping the locals realise there is a cultural fix in Chester.
“The themes that cover the 33 days cover our history, our music history, our culture, arts and festivals.
“The events proposed within this showcase will engage with the public in a manner that is both exciting and unique and represent good practice,” she said.
“It allows this event to become a ‘something for everyone’ event thereby making it marketable to many crossover groups.”
It is hoped the Chestival event can grow by more than 200,000 spectators by next year and to a massive 400,000 additional visitors within a couple of years.