Council asks for ideas for events to replace Lincoln Christmas Market

City of Lincoln Council is inviting residents and businesses in the city to give their ideas on what they would like to see as part of Lincoln’s new events programme.

Ahead of the Policy Scrutiny Committee meeting on 23 March, work has already begun to develop a new programme of events and activities for the city, which will support the vibrancy of the city centre and uphill area by providing an all-year-round cultural experience for visitors and residents that cements Lincoln as a key destination locally, regionally and nationally.

However, the city council is committed to hearing the thoughts of residents and businesses in Lincoln on what they would like to see through events and activities throughout the year.

Once the most popular ideas have been gathered, along with events and activities already curated by the council, a full programme of events will go to consultation with residents and businesses in May before being launched in June, with key events and activities beginning from October, with a particular emphasis on ‘Christmas in Lincoln’.

Through this programme, the city council will aim to replace the estimated £2million spend to local businesses and 320,000 visitors for the local economy from the Lincoln Christmas Market, but more evenly spread over the whole year.

It is anticipated that events and activities will remain predominantly free to enter/public space based and the programme will consist of a mix of complimentary events, that enhance the existing visitor experience, through to larger scale impact events that draw new visitors from a wider area and encourage overnight stays.

Cllr Neil Murray, Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economic Growth at City of Lincoln Council said: “The application to ‘call in’ the decision made by the Executive to re-allocate the budget for the Lincoln Christmas Market was refused by the Select Scrutiny Committee, and so we will now move to progress our new programme of events for the city.

“Once finalised with thoughts from both residents and businesses incorporated, the new Lincoln Events Programme will be designed to spread visitor numbers to the city centre/uphill area throughout the year rather than within the condensed four-day period in December, which has been the case in previous years.

“Alongside a range of events throughout the year, we understand Christmas is important for many economically, and we are also exploring the extent to which the Christmas lights in the city centre can be refreshed and replaced on a rolling programme over the next few years to ultimately create a complete new display and extend to areas more recently re-developed within the city centre.

“We are excited to hear what ideas people in the city have and look forward to sharing a programme that celebrates the full six weeks of Christmas, together with a yearlong plan to maintain animation in the city centre/uphill area at other key times in the year.”

To give your ideas of what you would like to see as part of Lincoln’s new events programme, visit https://www.lincoln.gov.uk/future-events-programme. Residents and businesses have until 25 April to share their ideas.

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