Radio 1's Big Weekend generated £6.7m for Luton

About £5.1m worth of spending in Luton over the weekend came from people visiting the town

BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton generated about £7m worth of economic impact for the town following only half a million pounds of investment.

At a Luton Borough Council meeting, Aslam Khan, a Conservative councillor for the Poets ward, asked if the event held in Stockwood Park was value for money.

James Taylor, a Labour councillor for the ward of High Town, explained that the funding for the festival came from a grant of £350,000 and a Luton Rising sponsorship of £150,000.

"With an estimate the event generated more than £6.7m of impact, including local spend, which was more than ten times our input," he added.

Raye, Coldplay and Chase & Status headlined the three-day event

"The executive approved a sum of £350,000 that was UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) grant finance, for which we received government approval to allocate for this venture.

“Luton Rising provided sponsorship of £150,000 and there’s been no impact on the [council’s] general fund.

“Of the economic impact of over £6m, about £5.1m came from outside the town with an extra £1.6m spend from people living within Luton," said Mr Taylor.

Luton Borough Council will explore future large music events in the town

The meeting heard that across the weekend there were 13 arrests and eight noise complaints.

Mr Taylor, who is the portfolio holder for regeneration and inclusive growth, said more than 105,000 visited the town and there was a "huge uptake in hotel trade".

He continued: "There’s been huge interest from businesses and the community to host large music events in the future.

"Once we’ve received the full economic impact report back, we’ll start to explore the opportunities with commercial and event organisers, as we want any event delivered at no cost to the local taxpayer."

Mr Khan suggested that the BBC and Thameslink were the financial beneficiaries: "There were no businesses from the poor areas [of Luton]."

In response Mr Taylor said: "The BBC and Festival Republic are in charge of that and encourage local businesses to tender. I certainly saw a couple within there."