City’s festive offer pulls in more than 60,000 visitors

The partners involved in Festive Derby have been reflecting on a successful programme of events, which attracted more than 60,000 visitors to the city in the run-up to Christmas.

Derby City Council, Derby Museums, Derby Cathedral, Derby Theatre, QUAD, Derbion, Cathedral Quarter and the St Peter’s Quarter Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), all worked together to provide attractions and entertainment that would encourage people to visit.

It kicked off with the Christmas lights switch-on, which was attended by more than 2,000 people.

On the Market Place, in the run-up to Christmas, more than 15,000 people visited the Nordic Bar, which was a new attraction for 2023, while over 12,000 people donned their skates for the nearby Cathedral Quarter Ice Rink.

The Christmas pantomime at Derby Arena also proved a huge hit.

Created by Derby LIVE and Little Wolf Entertainment’s, Mother Goose, starring award-winning Dame Morgan Brind and Coronation Street baddie Todd Boyce, saw more than 33,000 tickets sold.

Meanwhile, more than 400 theatre lovers enjoyed The Lost Boys’ take on the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life, and more than 2,300 tickets were sold for the Babbling Vagabonds’ family show Naughty Meg and the Christmas Elves, both at Derby Museum and Art Gallery on the Wardwick.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Derby City Council’s cabinet member for city centre, regeneration, culture and tourism, said: “It was fantastic to see so many people joining the festivities in Derby over Christmas.

“Every person I spoke to and every social media comment I read had the same positive response – Christmas is so much better this year in Derby! That’s the best feedback I could ask for.”