Festival adds £4m to town's economy - organiser

A troupe of three female wire walkers perform in front of a crowd in a park. The woman closest to the camera is holding a machete knife while balancing on the wire. James Bass Photography

The festival attracted 62% more people this year, Out There Arts said

Andrew Turner
BBC News, Norfolk
Reporting from
Great Yarmouth

A festival of circus and street arts has added £4m to a town's economy, according to its organisers.

Fifty-five companies took part in The Out There Festival, which was held in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, from Thursday to Saturday.

Out There Arts said the event attracted 65,000 people this year, compared with 40,000 in 2024.

Joe Mackintosh, the company's artistic director, said: "We had some good weather, but [also] a phenomenal programme."

A troupe of circus artists playing brass and drums. They are wearing dark clothing and have dirty arms, legs and faces. The drummer has a bucket on their head. The fourth person in the line up is holding a casket of ashes. People are sat behind them, watching, with a terrace of guest houses behind them.James Bass Photography

This year's event saw visitors spend an estimated £700,000 more than last year, Out There Arts said

The festival saw 250 artists put on more than 150 hours of free entertainment across three days.

Gorilla Circus performed AIthentic on Saturday, a play set on the jib of a mobile crane about a futuristic universe where users struggle to maintain control of their rights to use digital services, which was commissioned by Out There Arts and premiered at the festival.

On the arm of that crane is a stage, pictured here at a 40% angle with two actors on that stage, attached by safety wire. A third cast member is on the deck of the lorry. The backdrop is the late evening sky. Ultraviolet lights illuminate the stage, which has a background netting of LED lights, with chairs mounted to the upper side panel.Andrew Turner/BBC

Gorilla Circus premiered its new play, AIthentic, at the festival on Saturday

Mr Mackintosh added: "We have had a lot of people who have discovered the festival for the first time and they've thought it was great, and we've also had more people stay longer.

"We've been booking hotels for artists and we've noticed how many of them have been full."

The African Choir of Norfolk, with its choir members dressed in magenta tops and hairbands, and colourful floral dresses. They are performing on the beach in Great Yarmouth with a vast collection of silk flags made by children fluttering behind them, and a crowd of people watching on. A drummer is to the left of the choir.James Bass Photography

The African Choir of Norfolk was one of 55 companies that performed at the event

Mr Mackintosh added: "This is the second year since we moved [the event] to May [from September] and there's more room to grow this time of year.

"That allows us to grow across the week and build towards really big days on the Friday and Saturday.

"There was also a real international gathering and there was a huge buzz.

"We had 287 creative delegates, of which half were international, attending the Fresh Street conference [at the Hippodrome], and they have gone away saying 'wow' so it's been great.

"We also had a keynote speech from [the musician] Brian Eno, and he has now become a big fan of Great Yarmouth and says he will rave about it and promote the festival."

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