Festivals Floating Galway's Economy

Summer in Galway means one thing really - festivals. Between the Galway Film Fleadh, Galway Arts Festival and of course the Galway Races, July is essentially one long party. However it's not all about the craic, festivals have and continue to prove essential to Galway's economy. Michael Coyle CEO of the Galway Chamber of Commerce commented recently that "Galway tourism is built on festival foundation, one shudders to think, especially in the current climate, about having a tourist season in Galway without the festival programmes."

His comments come as no surprise really when we discover that the Film Fleadh this year attracted over 20,000 admissions and that the economic benefit is estimated to be somewhere in the region of €5.5 million. The quality of admissions is also on the up, one of this years feature films was John Michael McDonagh's The Guard featuring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle which is second only to Harry Potter in Ireland's box offices!

However those are small numbers compared to what the Galway Arts Festival, which is wrapping up tonight,

is expected to draw in. The 34th annual festival was set to attract an estimated 160,000 visitors to the city and provide a boost of €20 million to the local economy. The festival has also attracted some big brand sponsorship in the form of Absolut Vodka which has teamed up with the festival to create the 'Absolut Visual Arts Programme', the sponsorship will be worth almost €1 million three years. The sponsorship is part of the 'Absolut Art' initiative which dates back to 1985 and has been named by Advertising Age as one of the 10 best campaigns of the 20th century.

Finally the creme de la creme of Galway festivals - the Fianna Fáil tent, the helicopters and limousines and the free flowing champagne may be a thing of the past but the Galway Races is still the highlight of the season. Many feared that the festival, which represented so much of the excess that we had come to enjoy in Ireland, would suffer the same fate as our economy and come crashing to its knees, thankfully that was not the case. In fact last year 166,000 made the journey to Ballybrit, 16,000 more than Horse Racing Ireland had dared to hope for. This years numbers are predicted anywhere between 180,000 and 200,000 which will amount to somewhere between €60 - €70 million for the local economy. It also seems that the popularity of the festival has not gone unnoticed in the business community either, with all 52

races on this years cards securing sponsorship. Ladbrokes, the British sports betting giant is among one of the sponsors of the festival this year and Managing Director Joe Lewins has commented that Ladbrokes are delighted to be part of the event and "have a number of plans underway that we feel will contribute to making the week even more spectacular." Other sponsors include Guinness, Tote Ireland, and local department store Anthony Ryan's which sponsors one of the most coveted prizes of the week. The Best Dressed Lady competition on Thursday will see one lucky lady walk away with a price pack worth over €10,000.

So although it's not all about the craic, you can be sure that plenty can be had. 2012 will also see the Volvo Ocean Race return to the city of the tribes and preparations are already underway, so be sure to book early!