This year’s Ipswich Music Weekend was the biggest and best on record, with 45,000 people attending the celebration over two days in Christchurch Park.
With six different stages, more than ever before, it’s the largest free music festival in the UK, and gets better every year. With more acts, even more diversity of musical styles and more local talent performing than ever before - Ipswich really knows how to celebrate our local culture well.
Good weather meant that everyone attending could relax in the sunshine and enjoy the variety of acts on offer with the Crossroads stage and BBC Radio Suffolk stage proving most popular on the Sunday and the Suffolk New College, Grapevine, Bowl/Dip stage and Monument stages enjoyed by many too – 26,500 people attended the park on Sunday.
This followed on from the Ipswich Jazz and Global Rhythm Festival, held the day before (Saturday) where 17,500 people enjoyed performances from Ma Bessie & Her Blues Troupe and Young Jazz Musician of the Year Xhosa Cole.
Large-scale events like this can produce a lot of litter for disposal, but unsung heroes on the day were our team of 12 litter pickers collecting litter over the weekend, with on-site bins separating out cans and bottles for recycling.
On average around 20-25 per cent of all waste collected will be recycled. In 2019, 19 per cent of the waste collected was recycled and this year we hope this to be higher thanks to dedicated recycling points for cans and plastic bottles, items that make up the largest proportion of waste produced at such events. This means that around 1.5 tonnes of material such as packaging, bottles and cans collected will be sent for recycling.
Cllr Sophie Connelly, Ipswich Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Culture, says:
“We’ve received a lot of positive community feedback about how well the event was organised and ran on the day. It was all about our community coming together on the day to enjoy the local talent that Ipswich has to offer in a huge celebration of music. There was a real buzz from everyone as we return to hold large scale open-air events like this, showcasing musical excellence and having fun.
“Don’t forget that we continue to celebrate music and culture again this coming weekend, with the Indian Summer Mela at Christchurch Park, with upbeat music and dance styles being performed along with wonderful food for all to enjoy.”
The Indian Summer Mela is a colourful celebration of south Asian culture this Sunday 10 July, 12-6pm in Christchurch Park. More about this event can be found online at the All About Ipswich website.
