More than 100,000 people descended on Hillsborough Park and Sheffield city centre to party in the sunshine on the 10th year of the celebrated Tramlines music festival.
The festival moved to its new, bigger location of Hillsborough Park this year, which gave the opportunity for four stages to play host to a line-up of acclaimed international acts, including Stereophonics, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Craig David’s TS5, alongside Jake Bugg, Nina Nesbitt and Mabel.
Exciting entertainment was also on offer at Devonshire Green, Barker’s Pool and the Peace Gardens as The Fringe at Tramlines provided free films, comedy and music that created a buzz across the city centre.
Councillor Mary Lea, Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Leisure at Sheffield City Council, said: “Tramlines Ten was a brilliant success and celebration of Sheffield and the people of this city, reflecting the friendly and vibrant spirit of we are known for.
“From what I’ve seen and heard everyone who attended Tramlines had an amazing weekend and our beautiful Hillsborough Park was the perfect location to host an event of this scale, which now has the capacity to attract major artists, and visitors from across the country.
“Our free The Fringe at Tramlines activities perfectly complemented the main festival, showcasing local talent, providing fantastic family entertainment and keeping the festival vibe alive in the city centre. Many city centre businesses participated in The Fringe creating a real buzz throughout day and night, and we will build on this success to make it even better next year.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved in delivering Tramlines Ten and The Fringe at Tramlines, including our major events team and South Yorkshire Police who worked so hard across both sites to make sure everyone had a safe and enjoyable experience.”
Created by the combined forces of Tramlines, Sheffield City Council and Sheffield BID, The Fringe at Tramlines attracted 70,000 people, enjoying the free music stage, open-air cinema and street theatre activities over the two-day event.
Diane Jarvis, Sheffield BID Manager, said: “The Fringe at Tramlines brought tens of thousands of people into the city centre to enjoy music, film and performance. BID investment supports events that drive cultural and economic growth for the benefit of our local businesses.
“It was fantastic to see Sheffield city centre busy, vibrant and taking on a festival feel for Tramlines weekend. Through the addition of a complimentary programme of city centre fringe events, this investment has helped drive visitor numbers and spend whilst enhancing the city’s distinctiveness and external profile.”
With the main festival moving to Hillsborough Park Tramlines were keen to keep some roots in the city centre where the festival started ten years before, by supporting an official fringe festival.
Alex Deadman, Tramlines Festival and The Fringe at Tramlines, said: “I’m delighted that Tramlines Festival were able to work with Sheffield City Council and Sheffield BID leading to the creation of an official event, ‘The Fringe at Tramlines’.
“The unique atmosphere created over the Tramlines weekend is reliant on both the ticketed event at Hillsborough Park and the vibrancy of the city centre. I hope that we now have a model that can be used well into the future.”
The huge success of Tramlines festival was clearly evident with early bird tickets for the 2019 festival selling out within minutes after release last week. In 2019 the festival takes place on 19-21 July, tickets are on-sale now at www.tramlines.org.uk/.
The Fringe at Tramlines will be back in the city centre on the same weekend, keep an eye out on the Sheffield Events Facebook page for announcements and updates.
