Businesses invited to support Mathew Street Festival
Liverpool City Council is asking businesses in the city to support the Mathew Street Music Festival taking place during the summer.
The event, returning for the nineteenth time in August, was solely funded by Liverpool City Council previously.
The council said due to budget pressures it is looking for support from local businesses which benefit from the hundreds of thousands of visitors who pour into the city over the August bank holiday weekend.
The council added that opportunities for businesses are being developed, ranging from stage sponsorship to smaller contributions from pubs and bars.
Letters have been sent out to 300 organisations in the city centre including bars, restaurants and hotels asking them to become sponsors for the 2011 festival and the Mathew Street Fringe festival. A contribution ranging from £250 to £400 is being suggested, with those venues at the heart of the event paying more.
In return for working in partnership with the city council, there will be a range of benefits including recognition as a supporter in all promotional and marketing materials.
Among the first businesses to sign up are the Flanagan Group, which owns establishments such as the Newz Bar, and Cavern City Tours.
The Flanagan Group has donated £10,000 to sponsor a stage on Water Street, near the Newz Bar premises.
Cavern Club and Pub have given £2,000 to sponsor the event, and The Vernon, Garcias and La Cubanita are also contributing up to £400 each.
Cllr Joe Anderson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: "The Mathew Street Music Festival and Fringe is a popular event and is also extremely important to the local economy – bringing in £20m to the city in 2010.
"However, it is a costly festival to stage and as we're facing £91m cuts this year we need to look at different ways we can raise the funding in order for it to continue.
"Working with local businesses is the logical option as it's in everybody's interests to ensure we can put on an outstanding event as we have done for the last 18 years, and attract as many people as possible. Due to the tough economic climate, we understand organisations are watching every penny, but the whole city reaps the benefits from this event. So, we're asking for any contributions – whether they're big or small.
Bill Heckle, director of Cavern City Tours, added: "I feel it is imperative to put something back in and to this effect we have pledged £1,000 each from both the Cavern Club and Cavern Pub in order to help with the funding of the festival. We have to raise money to ensure the future viability of the Festival but we cannot sit back and expect the city council to pick up the tab because firstly it cannot and secondly it will not!"
- Liverpool City Council said local businesses wanting to find out more about the sponsorship scheme can email events@liverpool.gov.uk or call 0151 233 6833 / 0151 233 4552
Business have benefitted from this fantastic free festivaal for a long time, it is good to see them helping the City Council out in times of trouble. Just hope this year will be as good as previous years.
By Brian
I was looking forward to visiting this festival last year and got off a train at Lime Street to be greeted by broken glass on the streets, an ambulance attending a boy with a bad cut on his head and really drunk, for want of a better word, scallies. Thinking it would get better, I walked through the gardens behind St Georges Hall looking for my friends and thousands of people were treating the area with no respect with one very well dressed young lady being pushed into a bed of flowers. It continued from there, as i walked through the new Grosvenor area to find a man, who must have been 40 at least, urinating against a window of one of the new shops. To get away from these crowds, we headed to the China area to enjoy a meal served by people of a different culture who I imagine have to deal with this sort on a daily basis and are always treating THEM with respect. To add to this, why were there hundreds of tribute acts and not one genuine act performing at the festival? I shall not be going again this year even if Liverpool City Council find funding for it. I’ve seen enough of it thank you.
By Scott
Scott, no genuine acts becuase the beatles split up in 1970, you plum.
By Ringo
Hi Ringo (ah, see what you’ve done there, used the name of a Beatle as your own. Funny) I’m on about the likes of Kins of Leon (tribute to the Kings of Leon), Antarctic Monkeys (tribute to Arctic Monkeys), or Kazabian (tribute to Kasabian), from last year. These tribute acts instead of genuine bands. Ok, these actual acts would cost but I reckon the council could at least get Kasabian or Arctic Monkeys to perform? They’re not my favourite but I’d rather see the real thing. If you can’t get the acts don’t bother with these tributes. I love the Japanese Beatles and other tributes of other bands that are no longer with us or performing, it’s the others I’m on about. Anyway I won’t be going again because the drunken behaviour is the worst I’ve ever seen. Love and peace x
By Scott
Scott, given your moral code I imagine you’ll be staying at home flower arranging.
By Ringo
Ringo, George, John, whatever you want to call yourself, you clearly have nothing to say in response to what, I think, is a valued point. There is drinking and there is drinking. Liverpool people can’t seem to behave at this festival when tanked up on booze, and it was people with scouse accents I’m referring to. I’ll choose to go elsewhere this August bank holiday and for your information my friends from Liverpool will be joining me because they agree with me about what I’ve said about this festival. I’ve celebrated New Year in Amsterdam before, which had similar outdoor stages etc, and enjoyed the Oktoberfest in Munich one year, both attracting similar thousands, but there was nowhere near the same behaviour as I experienced in Liverpool last year.
By Scott
Scott, my response to your ridiculous and pointless rant would be to say that drunken behaviour is not just reserved for the fine people of Liverpool i.e in every city, at every festival, at every major sporting event in the world people get drunk and misbehave, that’s life. I note your comments about Amsterdam – are you having laugh? They sell class A & B drugs in their cafes, should we do that in Liverpool! Scott you are a little Englander, no doubt living in a village that has been shortlisted for best kept village of the year.
By Ringo
Well, well, who rattled your cages, guys. At least the article has created a heathly debate.
By Brian