Brighton and Hove City Council has five-year plan for outdoor events

Brighton and Hove City Council’s draft outdoor events strategy is due to be presented to the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday (25 March) before going to the cabinet in May.

This year’s programme was approved by the cabinet last November and includes three major events – the Rugby World Cup, Pride and the Brighton Marathon.

It also includes 10 outdoor festivals including the Brighton Festival and Fringe in May and On The Beach – as well as more than 100 civic and community events .

According to a report, outdoor events generate £650,000 in fees and the council aims to increase this to more than £1 million.

For the next 10 years, the council is looking to widen the programme to include markets and develop the night-time economy.

Priority areas include encouraging more diverse events by finding cultural gaps in the programme and developing “homegrown” organisations.

A presentation to the cabinet said that the council had started regular resident forums which it wanted to expand as well as creating an events portal on the council website to allow for feedback and improvements.

The report to the committee said: “We want to ensure the programme is fair and inclusive, representative of and accessible to all our evolving communities, with strong community ownership, as well as providing opportunities for local businesses and talent to grow and lead.

“There will continue to be a strong commercial drive to both understand how we can drive even greater benefits to the local economy building on the £120 million benefits currently estimated, as well securing greater income and media coverage for these events.”

The Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm next Tuesday (25 March). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.