Arts by the Sea Festival set to return in 2013 (From Bournemouth Echo)

Arts by the Sea Festival set to return in 2013

2:00pm Wednesday 6th February 2013 in News By Julie Magee

PLANS are in the pipeline for this year’s Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival following the success of the 2012 event.

The 2012 festival attracted an audience of around 100,000 visitors and brought an estimated £1.6million to the resort.

Today funding will be sought from Bournemouth council and financial help will also be requested from the Arts Council, in a bid to make the 2013 festival a reality.

Carol Maund, of Arts Bournemouth said: “After two years of the Arts by the Sea Festival it’s clear that there is a real appetite for more arts locally.

“It’s a shame people often travel outside Bournemouth to enjoy interesting and unusual cultural events. We want to see this happening in our town.”

She added: “Whilst there are creative people and organisations in the town, Bournemouth is seen as a bit of a vacuum. We are working with lots of artists and partners to generate more events; it is well documented that investment in the arts contributes to local economic growth.”

Cllr Ian Lancashire, champion for arts and culture and festival founder, said: “The role that the arts and the Arts by the Sea Festival, in particular, can play in making Bournemouth a thriving town should not be underestimated.

“We know that the arts and the creative industries associated with them are not just important to the local economy but one of the success stories of the UK economy.”

Plans for the 2013 festival include forging closer links with Bournemouth eateries as those with direct involvement in last year’s event saw their sales increasing by up to 200 per cent.

The provisional dates for this year’s festival are Saturday, September 12 and Friday, September 20.