AAA White Paper The political economy of informal events, 2030 | Page 116

“In Bristol we know that events have
had a lot to do with us emerging as
one of the best European cities – not
just to visit, but also to move to. Every
year for the past three years, 4000
people have moved out of London to
come to Bristol. They’ve moved, in part,
because of the vibe, to celebrate their
lives with their families. In that sense,
events help build community.
“It’s important to work with partners to
develop events, especially whole-day
events, to improve the fabric of the
city. That means holding events in our
parks and green spaces – the Downs
Festival, for instance – and holding
other open-air events too: the Bristol
Harbour Festival, events in Queen’s
Square, the St Paul’s Carnival.
master-planning. We’ve done that
by working with UK Music to launch
the Bristol @ Night Advisory Panel, to
ensure that changes to policy are not
just put upon people in the NTE at the
last moment, but thought about much
earlier, when we’re shaping Bristol’s
strategy for the future.
“Take clubs. So far, most have been
located in old premises, in basements
and the like. But how might we
now design purpose-built clubs
from scratch? If nights in Bristol
are to continue to be inviting in our
fast-changing city, we need to come
up with imaginative answers to that
question.”
“In Bristol we’ve also raised the
visibility of the NTE in our urban
Cabinet member with responsibility for spatial
planning and city design, Bristol City Council, on
event development as a civic duty for local authorities
Councillor
Nicola Beech
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