Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Julie Bird.

There were no declarations of interests.

Purpose of report

To provide the Cabinet Member with an evaluation on the successful delivery of the Victorious Festival since 2014 and to request that an approach be made to secure future Victorious Festivals in Portsmouth.

RECOMMENDED

(1)  That this update report on the successful operation and delivery of the three Victorious Festivals on the seafront be noted and that the organisers of the Festival be congratulated on their very professional approach, delivery and responsiveness around all aspects of the event.

(2)  The officers be authorised to negotiate with Victorious Festival to enter into a contract for the delivery of an annual festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend from the end of the current contract period (2020) for a further five year term (2021 - 2025) with an optional 2 year extension (2026 - 2027) on terms satisfactory to the Director of Culture and City Development, the Director of Finance and Information Services, and the City Solicitor (in consultation with the Cabinet member for Culture, Leisure and Sport).

(TAKE IN REPORT)

The report was introduced by Claire Looney, Partnership and Commissioning Manager.

The Cabinet Member said she was fully in support of negotiating with the festival organisers to extend the festival for a further 5 years with an optional 2 year extension.  She invited the opposition spokespeople to make any comments. 

Councillor Hunt said he was very pleased with the recommendations and welcomed the success of the Victorious Festival.  He advised he had invited the views of his colleagues prior to the meeting and there had been a few operational concerns raised.  These included concerns about camping on the Southsea Common and the length of time that it is closed to the public.  In response to these points Councillor Symes said that the camping sites would likely be in the north of the city and the Common would only be closed from the Friday until the Monday of the August Bank Holiday weekend. 

Councillor Hunt also said that the £3 booking fee for the tickets currently goes to a National company and he felt that the organisers should investigate using a local agent which would generate additional income for the city.  Councillor Hunt also felt it was important that when the contract with the organisers is agreed, it should state that money from the event will go back into the community. Councillor Symes advised that the organisers of the festival were responsible for the ticketing and it was up to them to employ the best company to do the job.  The festival organisers have always supported the local community for example they had given £50,000 to the D Day Museum and supplied winter planting for the seafront amongst other things and the council would ensure that it remained a condition of their contract going forward.

Councillor Morgan said that he welcomed the recommendation to look to extend the event which created a buzz and excitement in the city.  He asked whether there were any projections to show the economic value for extending the event.  Officers advised that this information was not available currently as the event's economic impact report commissioned by the event organisers from 2016 would not be available until December.  In response to a further question from Councillor Morgan, officers advised that the event organisers are very proactive with dealing with feedback and there is a fully staffed complaint line during the event which is a condition of the contract.  Examples of where they have responded to feedback included pro-active sound monitoring which takes place throughout the event and a post event bus service which was trialled this year to transport people away from the event following challenges with the transport after the Saturday this year. 

Councillor Symes said that all the operational issues arising from this year's event were being looked into.  Councillor Hunt suggested that ward councillors are invited to meetings with the Cabinet Member and officers to understand how the event will work in the future. Councillor Symes advised that any member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.