Encounter Festival 2024 Evaluation Report

You can download a copy of the Encounter Festival 2024 Evaluation Report (PDF, 12 MB).

Encounter Festival would like to thank...

All of the artists, performers, volunteers, Preston's creatives, funders, Council works team, and all those that made Encounter Festival 2024 a huge success!

Thank you to Preston Photographic Society and Daniel McCullough who provided pictures of the event.

And thank you to all contributors to this report for their time and valued input to the evaluation: visitors, artists and performers, support services, partners and event contributors.

Encounter Festival's funders help the Encounter Festival event take centre stage and are here to support thousands of performers, arts organisations and venues, enabling them to realise their creative potential. Encounter Festival is proud to be working in partnership with the below funders.

Conclusion

Celebrating the breadth of the County's diverse cultural offer, Encounter Festival provides an authentic voice for Lancashire and the North West in showcasing a unique collection of high quality arts, performances, spectacles and entertainment.

Nine years since the festival was first piloted in Preston, Encounter Festival has delivered five full festivals, two brief festivals and a post pandemic festival; 2024 is the ninth production since the initial pilot in 2015.

It is felt that 2023 saw the festival "come of age".

Having stepped out of the post pandemic environment, and the subsequent impact of the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the event has generated momentum and support, whilst also developing structure, presence and focus through the appointment of the dedicated Executive Producer.

Growing from around 20,000 visitors at the pilot in 2015, 2023 generated a landmark 50,000 visitors. Whilst the locations, range of events and timescale limit visitor numbers to some extent, 2024 experienced in the region of 47,000 visitors.

The plan is for the festival to keep developing, growing and showcasing local talent; and 2025 will generate a significant opportunity to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the event.

The aim of Encounter 2024 was for visitors to discover new experiences, find inspiration and have fun.

The evaluation this year again highlights the success and impact of Encounter Festival. The views of visitors, performers and supporters promote its uniqueness; creating a dynamic, colourful, vibrant and invigorating event that promotes and encourages participation.

The visitor profile in 2024 has seen an increase in ethnic identity representation and visitors attending from outside of Preston City.

Illustrating Encounter Festival's capability for extending arts and culture experiences to people; for around one in five visitors, this was the first time they had participated in an arts and culture experience and for around three in five visitors, this was the first time they had attended this/an NTO event.

The feedback from performers working with Encounter Festival is highly positive and enthusiastic.

The event provides acts with opportunities for developing their work and skills, showcasing their abilities, promoting their skills and contribution to the community, representing their cultural background, working with new audiences, taking the arts to people who might not otherwise have access and performing in a new location.

The support, process, communication, openness and freedom for performance development provided by Encounter Festival support their effective development and delivery. Encounter Festival contributes to the performances and the performances in turn contribute to Encounter Festival.

Performers are keen to be involved in 2025, with the opportunity to develop their relationship with Encounter Festival and the community and to develop the performances they contribute.

Encounter Festival has the potential to further its community involvement and to integrate with more and wider community groups. Going out to communities throughout the year, building relationships and letting groups know how they can be involved with Encounter Festival can support this development.

Encounter Festival also has the potential to support local young people, including those where barriers exist to working in the arts, to gain experience and develop skills in the industry.

Visiting schools, colleges and universities, providing open days of practical hands on experience and providing work experience, traineeships and internships are all ways in which the skills and knowledge involved in producing Encounter Festival over the year can be passed onto young people.

The marketing reach for Encounter Festival in 2024 exceeded the 1 million figure, at 1.29 million.

Four fifths of this reach was generated by the Central Radio Campaign, with Facebook posts generating over one in ten of the total number. Around three in four visitors had seen or heard about Encounter before the event, with Facebook and word of mouth proving significantly the two main sources.