Fringe by the Sea delivers £7.3m boost for local area
FRINGE BY THE SEA 2023 – ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT
NET ECONOMIC IMPACT OF VISITOR SPEND IN REGION OF £7,313,884
“THE EVENT IS AN IMPORTANT DRAW FOR BRINGING PEOPLE INTO SCOTLAND”
DATES FOR 2024 : 2-11 AUGUST
The Economic Impact Report (EIR) for this year’s Fringe By The Sea undertaken by MKA Economics has shown that Fringe By The Sea is now a major financial boost for North Berwick and East Lothian. The net additional impact of visitor spend during the ten days between 4-13 August, when the 14th FBTS festival was held in North Berwick, was in the region of £7,313,884 which is a 14% increase on 2022. It attracted a total number of 74,750 visitors, 31% up on 2022; the event has grown year on year since it started in 2008.
The report states that 2023 can be seen to have been another success in attracting a significant number of people from outside East Lothian. There was an uplift in the number of people travelling into East Lothian. There were more people from elsewhere in Scotland, the UK and overseas. The event continues to act as an important draw for bringing people into Scotland. Overall, in terms of event ratings, the 2023 event scored considerably higher in terms of the number of people claiming it to be ‘Excellent’ (66%, compared to 64% in 2022) and rating it as ‘Ten out of Ten’ (50%, compared to 47% in 2022).
This rating has helped in encouraging more visitors to consider re-attending in future, with 91% indicating that they would ‘Definitely’ attend future Fringe by the Sea events. In terms of the question around the knowledge of sponsoring, 65% of the respondents were able to acknowledge at least one sponsor and 50% noting at least two of the sponsors.
Fringe By The Sea recently won Outstanding Cultural Event/Festival at the Thistle Awards (Edinburgh & East) and is now shortlisted for the national award.
The festival is also in the running for a 2023 UK Festival Award for Best Small Festival. Fans can vote https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/57CZDT5 with voting closing on 23rd October.
Jackie Shuttleworth, General Manager FBTS said: “To be in the running for a national award for Fringe by the Sea is very exciting. It takes a massive team effort to make the festival happen so actually this nomination is testament to the effort and passion of many people from our volunteers to artists to all those who support us, especially in North Berwick and East Lothian. We’d love to put the county on the map for events and bring this one home!”
Some of this year’s most popular shows were Sister Sledge, Travis, Dara O’Briain, Groove Armada, Dylan Moran, Giles & Mary (Gogglebox), Patrick Grant (sewing Bee) and Strictly winner Hamza Yassin.
Preparations for next year’s festival, to be held from 2-11 August 2024, are already underway with the first acts to be announced in the next few months.
FBTS Director Rory Steel says “We’ve had another record year of numbers, but the impact of the festival on the local economy is one of the most pleasing, along with the huge emotional uplift the event gives locals and visitors alike. The support we receive from our volunteers, local residents, commercial partners, East Lothian Council and, above all, ticket buyers, is enormously motivating for the Fringe By The Sea team. We’re busy planning for 2024, so watch this space for exciting news soon.”
For further information contact:
Fiona Duff
07710 419762 / Fiona@duffpublicity.com