Festival to champion Preston's night-time economy

A festival to celebrate the champions of Preston’s night-time economy is returning at the end of January.

It will take place at more than 50 venues throughout the city centre for three nights starting on Thursday, January 30.

She said: “Being the only destination in Lancashire to fly the Purple Flag, we are on a mission to shout about why our city centre is a great place to visit at night.

“We held a Prestfest weekend in May 2013, to great acclaim, boosting footfall and trade in many quarters; this time, it will be even better and as an economy, we are really excited.”

It is expected to spend £20,000 on the event including paying for activities, including advertising and entertainment.

He added: “Prestfest is unique and we make the most of that fact, we saw visitors from as far away as Hull, Leeds, Liverpool and even Scotland last time.

The Prestfest event began in October 2011 to coincide with the city’s success in achieving Purple Flag accreditation, which operates in a similar way to blue flags for beaches and green flags for parks. In May, more than 250 people took part on free guided tours looking at the city centre’s ‘dark’ history along with a programme of events including live music, street entertainment and specialty acts.