East Suffolk Council
Council delighted at First Light ‘weekend to remember’
Cllr Craig Rivett, Deputy Leader of East Suffolk Council and Cabinet Member for Economic Development has thanked festival-goers for helping make last weekend one of most memorable in the town’s modern history. And, in turn, co-founder Wayne Hemingway has thanked the Council for their role in making it happen.
Tens of thousands of people, not just from the town but from all over the country, and even abroad, attended the two-day First Light Festival on and around the town’s magnificent South Beach – and, despite challenging weather conditions at times, the Council is delighted that the event was such a huge success.
Cllr Rivett said: “The First Light Festival returned in full for the first time since 2019 and the town could not have been more ready to enjoy everything it had to offer. Huge credit must go to the First Light Festival company for such a fantastic, imaginative programme, which was enjoyed by people of all ages, both local and from far afield.
“East Suffolk Council is hugely proud of the role it plays in enabling it to take place but it wouldn’t be the same without the vast numbers of people who took part and made it another weekend to remember. The atmosphere was fantastic and told the story of a genuinely exciting shared experience.”
Wayne Hemingway, one of the founders of the festival and a champion for the reimagining of Lowestoft said: “First Light Festival has once again proved that there is a clear appetite in Lowestoft and the region for cultural events that can bring thousands of people from all walks of life together. It is a credit to East Suffolk Council that they have shown the confidence and imagination to enable the festival, helping us to deliver something this special and on this scale.”
The weekend also saw the grand opening of the newly refurbished East Point Pavilion - re-imagined as a fantastic, contemporary food and entertainment venue – which is owned by East Suffolk Council and also operated by First Light CIC.
First Light Festival is a free 24-hour multi arts festival, celebrating one cycle of midsummer sun setting and rising over the beach in Britain’s most easterly town.
The First Light Festival Community Interest Company has a mission to shine a first light on new and creative talent, building opportunities that support the creative talents of the community, with a vision that by 2030 Lowestoft and its hinterland will be bursting with innovation and creative energy.