Gloucester City Council is set to spend £215,000 on festivals and events during the next financial year.

The budget includes funds allocated to the city's flagship events - Gloucester Goes Retro and Bright Nights and the Tall Ships Festival, which is due to take place over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend of May 25-27. The festival was last held in 2022 over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

A report going before the Cabinet on Wednesday (January 10) says the anticipated revenue budget for the delivery of the 2024-25 city events programme is £215,000, subject to the full council approval of the 2024-25 budget.

The report states: "The costs of the programme are higher than this budget, however, with a mixed-model of public investment and private sponsorship, careful business-planning, strategic commissioning, exploiting commercial opportunities and working collaboratively across the city and beyond means that an ambitious city events programme is still achievable."

Part of this budget (£150,000 per year, for three years) has been identified as crucial match funding for an application to Arts Council England (ACE) Project Grants - Place Partnership strand.

"As an ACE Priority Place, Gloucester is in a strong position to be successful in this application," adds the report. "The bid is being submitted by Gloucester Culture Trust, and if successful, would lever an additional £500k of funding over three years into the city. The council will administer and retain the match funding amount, with the activity the events team delivers becoming part of a wider programme of work with partners across the city."

There is also a Civic Events budget of £5,000 allocated to support the annual programme of civic events in 2024. This will include a flag raising event for Armed Forces Day and lighting the beacon for D-Day Commemorations, Gloucester Day, Remembrance Sunday, Mayor's Christmas party, and the Mayor's annual service.