Three month review: 90% of Hull residents have visited a City of Culture event 4 Jul 2017

The University of Hull’s Culture, Place and Policy Institute has produced a report measuring the impact of Hull City of Culture, using data from the first three months of the programme. It finds that nine out of ten people in Hull have visited an event, and seven out of ten agree the programme is having a positive effect on the lives of local people. Events have drawn huge and often sellout crowds. Ferens Art Gallery and Hull Maritime Museum have seen crowds grow by over to 500%, and Hull Truck Theatre company grew audiences by 25%, with 40% being new visitors. Hotel occupancy is up by 13.8%, and there was a 17% increase in train journeys to and from Hull in January. Beyond the statistics, some residents have spoken movingly about the effect of the festival “we used to feel down-trodden, nobody came here – why would they? – and we were second class citizens. Now we like being Hull, we believe we have something to offer, that we can take our place alongside any other city”. Hull Daily Mail, (full report), Taitmail