Councillor Emma Corten, cabinet member for communications and culture said: “I would like to thank everyone involved in this year’s festival who helped make the day such a massive success including our fantastic traders, our talented chefs and entertainers, our volunteers and site staff. It was amazing to see the city centre so busy and events like this prove Newport has so much to offer.”
Newport had the honour of hosting two celebrity chefs in the chef demonstration zone – Matt Tebbutt and Cyrus Todiwala – who, alongside Pedro Alves, Adam Whittle and Carl Cleghorn, entertained audiences with some fantastic dishes.
The music and street food in John Frost Square was a first for the food festival and went down a storm, with an eclectic mix of bands and delicious cuisine on offer. Several traders reported selling out of stock by early afternoon.
Councillor Corten added: “We’ve taken a very short breather after such an incredible weekend, but now we’re heading straight into our plans for the festive season. Festive Newport will kick off next month with the countdown to Christmas event and we’ve got loads planned right into the new year – keep an eye on our socials over the coming days and weeks for more info on more exciting events and activities.”
City centre footfall figures recorded on Saturday 4 October were 81,037. Figures on Saturday 11 October were 135,139. New footfall counters have been installed in the city centre which means it is not possible to directly compare with data from last year’s event.
