Research shows that Festivals mean Business

Tim Joss, Chair of BAFA and Director of the Bath Festivals Trust said: Its time for many people in the arts, in national and local government, and elsewhere to change their attitude to festivals. The old view that festivals are flashes in the pan contributing nothing to long-term development must go. This valuable research paints a very different picture. It makes an impressive case for arts festivals as flexible, efficient, contemporary enterprises rooted in their local communities. And thanks to their special freedom to collaborate with artists, venues, and artistic and other partners, they are proving themselves valuable catalysts for cultural, social and economic development.

The study is a baseline from which to continue to measure the contribution of arts festivals to the cultural and economic life of the country.