Agenda item

            The Head of City Events and Venues reminded the Committee that the Council had, for fifteen years, organised an annual programme of events.  In 2009, these events had in total attracted approximately 1.4 million people and had generated an economic impact of almost £18 million for Belfast, which represented a return of £6.80 for every £1 which the Council had invested.  The events programme had attracted also an average of 7% of out-of-state visitors, who had added to the vibrancy and cultural activity of the City.  He explained that it was intended to organise in 2011 two elements of the annual events programme, namely, the Titanic Made in Belfast Festival and the Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival, which in 2010 had attracted 49,513 and 65,000 visitors respectively.

            He reported that feedback from visitors who had attended this year’s Titanic Made in Belfast Festival had indicated that there was still a huge interest in the Titanic theme and that they wished to see more related events and information being made available in Belfast.  The estimated economic impact of the 2010 event had been £600,000, with 69% of attendees coming from outside Belfast and Northern Ireland.  He added that this underpinned the economic rationale for the event to be repeated in 2011 and enhanced in the lead up to the Centenary of the Titanic in 2012. 

In relation to the Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival, he reported that it had over the four years in which it had been held become an established event and had attracted on average audiences in excess of 50,000 people.  In 2010, the Festival had generated just under £1.2 million of additional economic activity for the local economy.  He added that 47% of all attendees had originated from outside Belfast and stressed that the Festival provided a platform for Belfast to bid for and host future Tall Ships festivals and to celebrate and promote the City’s maritime heritage, together with providing a valuable marketing tool for attracting visitors. 

It had been estimated that the cost of the holding of the Titanic Made in Belfast event in 2011 would be £150,000 and that the Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival 2010 would cost £250,000.  However, the total economic return on this investment would be in the region of £1.8 million, which would equate to £3.75 for every £1 invested by the Council.  Accordingly, he recommended that the Committee approve the holding in the City in 2011 of the Titanic Made in Belfast Festival and the Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival.

            During discussion, several Members highlighted an apparent lack of co?ordination and communication amongst those organisations involved in promoting the Titanic theme.  In response, the Director of Development pointed out that a Steering Group comprising a number of organisations, including the Council, had been established to progress issues around the Titanic Centenary celebrations and added that a special meeting of the Committee was planned which would consider the most appropriate way in which to move the matter forward.

            After further discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendation.