An estimated 50,000 people attended the Richmond World Festival this past weekend, a two-day musical and cultural event that included headliners Bedouin Soundclash and The Strumbellas.
The $400,000 budget was put out by the city. This was supplemented by about $190,000 in sponsorships, grants and other revenue, originally targeted to be $160,000.
Because there are no ticket sales, it’s hard to gauge attendance, but the city estimated attendance was about the same as last year, explained city spokesperson Clay Adams.
The layout of the festival, however, was changed this year in order to provide more open space.
“This relieved congestion and made it more comfortable for visitors but may have left a sense it was quieter than previous years,” Adams explained.
The festival was centred at Minoru Park and incorporated the library and cultural square. There were three main stages with performers starting on Friday afternoon and wrapping up on Saturday evening. There was also a children’s area, the Bamboo Theatre and the Culinary Stage that had cooking demonstrations.
Food trucks were parked in the Feastival of Flavours. There were also booths representing regions from around the world from Asia to Africa selling various cultural knick-knacks.
The budget for the festival has risen over the years, with the inaugural festival in 2015 costing the city $170,000, with $90,500 in cash sponsorships and $10,000 in revenue.
In 2016, the city paid out about $230,000 for the festival with $140,000 in cash sponsorships.
In 2017, the festival expanded to two days, and its cost was $300,000 with $128,000 in corporate sponsorships.
Last year’s budget was the same as 2019, at $400,000.
The original suggested name for the inaugural 2015 festival was “Lulubaloo,” but the council of the day rejected this name and decided on Richmond World Festival instead.
