
North Yorkshire Council says that the Scarborough Lights festival attracted over 150,000 visitors during November and December 2024.
The festival, the second of its kind, featured over 50 individual light installations and events across 44 locations.
Highlights included the South Cliff Fire Garden, Reflections at St Mary’s Church, and The Aquarium of Light at the Spa, alongside free displays and installations. Illuminations also featured in Peasholm Park, Scarborough Castle, St Mary’s Church, and shopfronts, with 24 streets participating in Scarborough’s Live Advent Calendar.
In a report to councillors Executive Member for Culture, Arts & Housing, Councillor Simon Myers, said
"Audience data is still being collated, but was well in excess of 150,000, with ticketed attendances at 7,000. Social media reach for festival posts
was approximately 1 million views."
Councillor Myers noted the success of other venues and events on the Yorkshire Coast saying:
The Panto at Scarborough Spa, this year featuring Anne Hegarty from TV’s The Chase, was a huge success with sales far exceeding any previous panto’s at the Venue. Whitby Pavilion had an extremely busy December, including nearly 2,000 people attending the Cinema."
Looking ahead, Councillor Myers says there are several Scarborough Fair events planned for 2025:
- Scarborough Streets: 30 May-1 June
- Scarborough Fringe: 13-22 June
- Scarborough Art: 5 July-3 August
- Scarborough Extreme: 12-14 July
- Scarborough Lights: 14 November-21 December
He adds that Scarborough Open Air Theatre is also building on a successful 2024 season, with 17 confirmed acts for 2025 and further negotiations ongoing.
To further boost tourism, North Yorkshire Council is developing a new website, VisitNorthYorkshire.com, set to launch on 1 April. Councillor Mark Crane, Executive Member for Open to Business, stated that the website will replace legacy council destination websites and provide potential visitors with information on places to visit, eat, and stay.
A marketing campaign, "There’s more to North Yorkshire", is planned for May to July 2025 to challenge perceptions of the region identified in 2024 research. Tourism sector drop-in events are also scheduled to allow businesses to meet with the Visit North Yorkshire team and learn about the evolving service and website launch.
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