East Suffolk Council
Council secures First Light Festival for future
The future of Lowestoft’s First Light Festival has been secured, following East Suffolk Council agreeing to funding for the next three years.
The festival, which was first staged in 2019 is a flagship cultural event, welcoming tens of thousands of people to Lowestoft, providing a huge boost to the local economy. In total, more than 200,000 people have attended First Light in total.
The 2025 festival which took place on 21 and 22 June continued to deliver highly impressive outputs with almost 600 artists or creatives taking part, alongside 91 local businesses who traded at the event, plus engagement with all 22 local schools.
The agreement, reached at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday 26 November, will see £500,000 allocated to support the delivery of the festival up to and including 2029 with other contributions for the delivery of the Council’s Cultural Strategy.
The free multi arts festival organised by First Light Festival CIC celebrates the first midsummer sunrise in Britain’s most easterly town and takes place on Lowestoft’s award-winning South Beach.
Cllr Sarah Whitelock, cabinet member for Communities, Leisure, Culture and Tourism said: “I am absolutely delighted that our financial support will enable the First Light Festival to continue. Alongside the Arts Council, we are a major funder for the event and continue to demonstrate strong support for a wide range of cultural and sporting events across the whole district.
“The Council’s current funding agreement with First Light Festival has come to an end and to continue support a new agreement is required that will match fund the significant investment made by the Arts Council and ensure the festival’s sustainability for the years ahead. We do this because we recognise how enabling and supporting events like this deliver positive economic and community benefits. It is a free festival in a location with some of the greatest deprivation in the country and the opportunities it provides are priceless.
“It is also worth noting that the single largest contributor, the Arts Council, partly base their contribution on the Council’s commitment to the festival. Furthermore, they have stated that our support for the arts and culture in delivering its strategic objectives is an exemplar for other local authorities across the country.”