RESEARCH SHOWS FESTIVALS AT CRYSTAL PALACE PARK
CONTRIBUTED HUGE BOOST TO LOCAL ECONOMY
£4.8 MILLION TO LOCAL BUSINESSES • £37 MILLION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
£28 MILLION NETT BENEFIT TO UK ECONOMY
London, Thursday 01 February 2024: Festival Republic commissioned an Economic Impact
Assessment for the 2022 Wireless Festival, which took place from 1-3 July at Crystal Palace Park in
South London. This research was conducted by leading business and market research consultants
Fourth Street, to better understand the local impact of Festivals, revealing significant contributions
to the community’s economic well-being and the UK economy. In addition to this, Festival Republic
produced multiple events at the park in 2022 including Major League Baseball’s ‘Home Run Derby
X’ , the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ‘Music From The Movies’ and a free Crystal Palace Schools
Concert. The findings show that beyond celebrating arts and culture, festivals can drive positive
change through sustainable development and community engagement in the hosting parks and
boroughs.
As part of the event series, the 2022 edition of Wireless Festival at Crystal Palace contributed £37
million of economic activity, of which £28 million was a nett additional benefit to the UK
economy.
For the four London boroughs bordering the park, the Festival generated £4.8 million of additional
income for local businesses that would not otherwise have happened. This includes £500,000 that
the organisers spent with 14 local organisations and over £2 million spent by festivalgoers and staff
in local hotels and guests houses. In addition to spending by attendees, Festival Republic spent £10.7
million on suppliers, contractors, artists and staff payroll in production of the festival.
Some 2,400 people worked at the festival for an average of 40 hours each. This equates to 96,000
hours or 12,000 days – the equivalent of 52 full-time jobs. 960 of these staff live in one of the
adjoining boroughs. Festival Republic also took on a young person from the borough for a full
apprenticeship.
Melvin Benn, Managing Director of Festival Republic, said: “Festivals and the live music industry
contribute significantly to the economy. This survey demonstrates that the local Crystal Palace Park
community continues to benefit enormously, which is what I had hoped to see. This underscores our
commitment to not just organising world-class events, but leaving a positive impact that resonates
beyond the festival grounds.”
Festival Republic and Crystal Palace Park
Festival Republic has been working with Crystal Palace Park Trust since 2021 to re-establish the park as destination for live music once again. The Park has a history of more than 150 years of live music and has hosted performances from the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Elton John and many more.
Since the partnership began Festival Republic has hosted events with Iggy Pop, Blondie, Two Door Cinema Club and two editions of Wireless. In 2024 more huge shows are planned to go ahead with likes of Bloc Party, The National and the inaugural ‘Big Smoke Festival’ curated by music icon Skepta.
Festival Republic’s intention is to inject a new lease of life into the park with world-class entertainment, and put the Park on the radar for music fans as a go-to for huge music moments every single summer. By working in close partnership with the Trust, Festival Republic can be sure that all of its events are contributing in a positive way to the health and reputation of the Park, benefitting the communities who use it, as well as economy both locally and nationally.
Information on the survey and results
The survey was conducted by Forth Street Place Consultants, and Spirul market research company, who surveyed over 1000 people including festival goers, vendors and volunteers, as well as 18 business local to the area. For more information please contact [email protected].