The streets came alive with music, performance, dance and drumming as Celebrate Luton Street Fest attracted the crowds to Luton town centre.
The free two-day festival, organised and funded by Luton BID, curated by Revoluton Arts and generously supported by Arts Council England and Global Arts, brought world famous acts, local performers, flashmobs and street entertainment into St George’s Square and along George Street.
Highlights included an opening performance on Friday from the superb French outdoor arts company Vernisseurs and a finale on Saturday night from Worldbeaters, who started their set on Market Hill and paraded down George Street into St George’s Square, with crowds following the illuminated drumming troupe at every step of the way.
Gavin, O’Brien, Luton BID Chair, said: “Thank you to everyone who supported our first Celebrate Luton Street Fest – businesses, visitors and shoppers, funders and everyone else who got involved, had fun and helped us spread the word.
“Our aim is to make this vibrant, unique and exciting festival an annual event and to put it on the UK map.”
Festival curator, Matthew Jones, RevoLuton Arts said: “We successfully brought a buzzing and exciting festival environment into Luton town centre, with an action-packed line-up for the whole family to enjoy.”
Celebrate Luton Street Fest included roaming entertainment and an outdoor arts programme complete with children’s street theatre, interactive street games and a high skill contemporary dance performance that involved the audience in a game of table tennis.
On the first day of the festival George Street footfall cameras recorded an additional 1,700 plus visitors between 5pm and 9pm (compared to the same Friday in 2018). There were more than 1,200 additional visitors on the Saturday, as compared to the year before.