Bexhill After Dark festival shines light on how to boost seaside town

It comes after a new report by University of Brighton

The report, which is the outcome of two years of research, focuses on the financial and social impact of the Bexhill After Dark light festival on local residents. It also investigates what implications the reputation of the town among its young people and residents of diverse heritage may have for public policy.

The Bexhill After Dark festival is staged annually on the last Saturday of January. It is organised by not-for-profit events organisation 18 Hours in partnership with Arts Council England, Rother District Council, East Sussex Arts Partnership, and the De La Warr Pavilion.

This year’s event took place on 27 January 2024, attracting a live festival audience of 12,000 – the equivalent of a third of Bexhill’s total population. Around 7,800 of those were visitors from out of town, and calculations suggest that the event brought an extra £288,000 to £297,000 into town in one day, with some local restaurants even running short of food because of the demand.

Among other things, the report found that many of the residents who had moved to Bexhill over the past decade had come in search of affordable housing, stable employment and sometimes security. While most were content with their move, many of them, especially young people and the town’s ethnically diverse community, want more leisure centres to meet and socialize. They also want indoor and outdoor facilities offering sports and creative activities that reflect their interest.

Led by Dr Adam Jones and Dr Mandy Curtis from the University of Brighton’s School of Business and Law, the research was supported by the University’s Policy and Participatory Research Fund (PPRF) as well as the Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Dr Adam Jones, who is also Programme Director for Help to Grow Management, said: “Each January, the Bexhill After Dark festival lights up the town’s seafront and public spaces with illuminated sculptures, light shows and community parades. It is the only event of its kind in Bexhill and an important focus for the town.”

He added: “It has been fantastic to engage with the event organiser 18 Hours in this research project to analyse the benefits, both economic and social, of the festival. By working in partnership in this way, we’ve been able to gain access to groups such as local businesses and volunteer groups that would not always be possible as an academic. What we’ve discovered also helps to reinforce the cultural value and importance of local, free-to-attend art festivals in the regeneration of struggling seaside towns.”

Mandy Curtis, co-lead on the research and a member of the Bexhill After Dark committee, said: “This collaboration has enabled additional access to expertise and support which the research and knowledge exchange programme and funds provide.”

She added: “We always believed that the light festival was more than just the event itself, and to hear of the benefits it provides to local businesses and in developing local cohesion and civic pride is just wonderful.”

To help cement the event’s success, businesses in Bexhill will now be invited to join a new After Dark Business Network to support planning and share good practice to maximise policy and engagement opportunities from the 2025 festival.

Festivals Away Day

The report will be launched formally on Friday 13 September at the University of Brighton’s Sallis Benney Theatre in Grand Parade as part of Festivals Away Day, a networking event aimed at festival producers staged by 18 Hours in collaboration with Help to Grow Management.

The all-day event opens at 9.45am and is open to all (entry costs £10). It will be introduced by Professor Kate Robinson, the School of Business and Law’s new Dean and will include workshops on sustainable funding; a discussion on haptic technologies in programming led by University of Falmouth’s Adrian Bossey; and much more.