Community activities to mark St David’s Day and International Women’s Day were held in The Riverfront on 1 and 8 March respectively.
Young delegates from Newport were also joined by their counterparts from the other three home nations for a prestigious conference. Organised by our youth and play team to mark International Women’s Day, sessions were held in different city centre venues.
Newport’s first Festival of Words took place in the middle of the month. This celebrated words in all their forms with talks, workshops and performances. On the same weekend, Tin Shed Theatre held the first Live Act Fringe performing arts festival.
And last weekend, the Newport Music Trail with its free live performances in lots of different venues proved a huge hit.
Councillor Dimitri Batrouni, leader of Newport City Council. Said: “It has been a marvellous March in Newport culminating with the fantastic Music Trail which has helped to give our city centre footfall figures another significant boost.
“Visitors were up by more than 10 per cent on Saturdays last month compared with Saturdays in March. Figures for the entire month also continued the upward trend we have been seeing recently with an additional 18,000 people recorded for the whole month compared with the same period in 2024.”
Councillor Emma Corten, cabinet member for culture and communications, “Cultural events are so important for the city, our residents and the local economy. They not only bring visitors to the city, they highlight that Newport has a lot to offer and they also make people feel good about living, working and visiting here.
“We launched a cultural strategy for the city last weekend which is all about making sure we have a vision for ensuring culture thrives in Newport, that it is inclusive and accessible, and is owned and shaped by local artists and communities. They will drive this forward with our support.
“I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make all these events so successful – performers, community organisations, partners and the council’s own staff – and to all those who watched, participated and enjoyed them.
