Derry festivals: Options being reviewed for 2021

Despite the vaccines now being rolled, the prevalence of COVID and the threat posed by large- gatherings could thwart hopes for the return of the city’s flagship events to their pre-pandemic format unless circumstances change dramatically over the coming months.

Following cancellations or virtual editions of some festivals last year, and the postponement of the Maritime Festival to this year, hopes had been high that at least some of the city’s main events would return in 2021.

When asked about the Jazz and Clipper festivals provisionally scheduled for May and July, a spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council told the Journal: “A report outlining options and plans for events for the forthcoming year, including the City of Derry Jazz Festival, will come before elected members as soon as possible for consideration.

“Officers are proactively working with a range of partners to look at various options to facilitate events continuing this year. Any proposals will include measures to ensure compliance with whatever government restrictions may be in place.

“In relation to Clipper and the Foyle Maritime Festival, officers will continue to engage with Clipper Ventures in relation to any proposals relating to the restart of the suspended Clipper 2019-20 Race with a full report expected to come before members for consideration.”

Meanwhile the Council’s Business & Culture Committee this week approved a new tourism ‘experience’ initiative to help the local tourism sector recover post-COVID.

Head of Culture with Derry City & Strabane District Council Aeidin McCarter, in a report presented to the Committee, said tourism has been on an upward trajectory for the past decade, with record visitor numbers and spend prior to the arrival of COVID.

The report stated that while resources were in place to develop cross-border and rural area tourism experiences, “a gap in the core tourism businesses in the council area “ has been identified.

The new programme, which will cost £32,000 to deliver and market over the spring and summer, will assist businesses who have an idea for a new experience, who have an existing experience which they wish to adapt, or who have a desire to collaborate with other businesses to strengthen their offering.

Workshops on storytelling and best practice are planned along with one-to-one mentoring and seed funding. A specialist tourism consultant will be engaged to deliver the programme.

Proposing the Council proceed with this plan, Sinn Féin Councillor Mickey Cooper said as someone who owns a tourism business, it was clear COVID has had a massive negative impact, particularly for niche businesses.

Colr. Cooper said:“It’s around what their audience will be in the future because a lot of traditional markets we had in the past, the North American markets, certain European markets, obviously the market across the water, and we were looking at the long haul markets from Asia and places like that, some of those markets will not recover as quickly as others, and the products of local companies, tourism providers will need to refreshed, amended, modified.

“The fact that there is money available will allow local providers to enhance the products they already have and add new ones to them, because from my experience and others in the sector over the last ten years a lot of it has been about innovation, particularly in rural tourism; creating new experiences for people who are coming here and don’t want to just do the usual.”

Seconding the proposal, DUP Alderman Graham Warke said that the region was on course to be the capital of the UK for tourism, and praised the work of Council officers.