Business owners delighted at festival boost

Leion Dillon said that business had been tough lately

Independent business owners have praised the impact of a popular festival in Leicester, saying it helped boost footfall in the city centre.

The four-day Light Up Leicester event attracted 93,500 people between 12-15 March to see art installations and other attractions, according to Leicester City Council.

Leion Dillon, who runs the Scrumptious sweet shop in Gallowtree Gate, said the high street was facing "tough times" because of the loss of flagship stores but that the festival provided a welcome boon.

The 46-year-old said: "We need more incentives to bring people back to town to see what they are actually missing... a lot of people don't even know that many shops on the high street exist."

"It's a great city and I think we just need to pull together to really push Leicester," he added.

Aleisha Hartsilver said the success of events like Light Up Leicester would deter businesses from moving to out-of-town retail parks

Aleisha Hartsilver, an employee at pasta restaurant Mac Lovin in St Martin's Square, said the festival had helped the restaurant during a typically quiet period.

"Leicester's quite good for doing little arty pop-ups," she said.

"I think it brings a lot of people in, and especially since Covid the city has struggled a little bit.

"It's really nice to see the city be so lively again."

The festival included art installations in eight locations and the cathedral was illuminated with a digital lightshow depicting the city's history.

A number of attractions also took place during the free four-day event, such as a dance performance and illuminated bike ride.

There were 143 artists and creatives who worked on the event

Layla Sidat, who runs The Globe pub in Silver Street, said the event had attracted a larger number of children to the city.

"Families will tend to stay away from the city centre at nightfall, and obviously that's for safety reasons, but I think projects like this have been really good with security," she added.

"We've still got wonderful things that we can provide for the city of Leicester, and if you're going to retail parks, you're missing out on something."

The city council said the event's footfall represented a 45.1% increase in the area compared to the same times and days in the previous week.

Meanwhile, early estimates put the financial benefit to the city at £4.5m.