Pubs in Liverpool donate £15K to music festival
Pubs and bars in Liverpool have donated more than £15,500 towards the city's biggest free music festival, which takes place every August bank holiday.
The Mathew Street Festival has previously been funded by Liverpool City Council, but this year, due to budget pressures, it is looking for support from local businesses that benefit from the event.
The council has so far approached 10 licensees in the city centre, with each donating £250.
The Flanagan Group, owner of Newz Bar, has also contributed £10,000 to sponsor a stage near the venue.
Cavern Club and Pub has given £2,000 to sponsor the event, and the Vernon Arms, Garcias and La Cubanita are also contributing up to £400 each. Liverpool City Council said it is looking to raise around £50,000.
Paul Flanagan, group managing director at the Flanagan Group, added: "We realise it's not feasible for the city council to solely fund the event, so wanted to play our part."
The British Beer & Pub Association's regional secretary for the north of England Lee Le Clerq said: "Businesses are not being compelled to pay, but hopefully operators in Liverpool will recognise the event's importance and will hope to recoup their contribution many times over in extra trade."
Councillor Joe Anderson, leader of the council, said: "The Mathew Street Festival is a popular event and extremely important to the local economy — bringing in £20m to the city in 2010. However, it is costly to stage and, as we're facing £91m in cuts this year, we need to look at different ways to raise funds for it to continue."
Are you helping to fund events in your local community? Send thewvg.qrtha@jeoz.pbz an email.
