“Best River Festival yet,” says the man who made it happen

Bjorn Hove-Pederson, the man who leads on making sure the Bedford River Festival happens, has said this year could be the “best yet”, with figures showing around 300,000 people attended the event generating an estimated £6 million+ for the local economy.

Speaking exclusively to the Bedford Independent, Bjorn, who is lead events & infrastructure officer for Bedford Borough Council said: “I’m sure it sounds like a cliché, but I genuinely believe that this was the best River Festival yet.”

Not one to take all the credit, Bjorn paid tribute to his team and the “wonderful volunteers” who he said made it so “special” and showed “local people’s commitment to and pride in the Bedford River Festival”.

He added, “Once again, this was a truly fantastic weekend at the Bedford River Festival, which showed why it’s such a beloved family event.

“I can’t give enough thanks to everyone who made it all happen, from my colleagues in the events team to the many staff across the Council who made it so special.

“All the local groups and businesses who helped run and sponsor the festival, all 140 performers and acts, and of course all the members of the public who helped create such an amazing atmosphere.

“It would also be remiss of me not to mention the wonderful volunteers, all 93 of them, who helped with the clean-up.

“They were there to assist our own cleansing team in the clear-up, and show local people’s commitment to and pride in the Bedford River Festival.”

Bedford Borough Council also confirmed that this year’s River Festival saw in the region of 300,000 visitors attend.

And, based on tourist board visitor day spend figures, the River Festival is estimated to have generated over £ 6 million for the local economy.

This figure could be much higher though as it does not include any overnight stays in local hotels for the festival, with accommodation providers telling the Council “that they get fully booked over the River Festival weekend.

Alongside this, local charities also did well.

Palliative and bereavement support charity, Sue Ryder, raised over £26,000 from the Dragon Boats events.

Meanwhile, Bedford Hospital Charity & Friends raised almost £900 thanks to local business Michael R Peters, who organised and hosted fundraising games along The Embankment.

With what appears to be a great success with this year’s festival, how does Bjorn feel about raising the bar at the next one?

“It leaves us with the challenge of making the next one even better. But, don’t worry, Bedford work has already started on planning what we’ll do in 2026”.

The River Festival that nearly didn’t happen

With praise coming in for this year’s River Festival from almost everywhere, Bedfordians have been quick to point out that this year’s event nearly didn’t happen.

In August last year, Mayor Tom Wootton (Conservative) announced surprise plans to cancel the event and replace it with a scaled-down family festival, without consulting all Borough Councillors or local people.

The plans, which were revealed by this publication, were met with an almost universal backlash led by Bedford Independent readers.

Borough Councillors (some even in the Mayor’s own party), Bedford business owners, and the Bedford & Kempston Labour MP all expressed their criticism of the plans.

Read: Bedford River Festival to be replaced with annual family festival

So, after his forced u-turn, what did the Mayor think of this year’s festival?

“This year’s festival was absolutely wonderful and takes the crown for being the most family-friendly River Festival to date” said the Mayor.

“The highlight for me was seeing so many families, couples and friends enjoying various events and coming away with incredible lasting memories this summer.”

But is the Mayor humble enough to admit he was wrong about his plans to replace the River Festival?

“I have always listened to public opinion and that is why we set out to make the River Festival more family-friendly going forward and I am ecstatic we achieved what the public set us out to do – hold a safer, cleaner and more family-friendly festival.

“It was fantastic to hear so much positive feedback about the new additions this year such as St. Mary’s Gardens, Green Earth Village on Castle Mound and the Green Earth Kids section.

“Including schools being invited to play on the community stages and Justice in Motion’s Play, CODE to name a few.”

He did, however, join Bjorn in congratulating council staff.

“Of course, a real thank you to all volunteers and Council Staff who were the actual ‘doers’ that planned and managed the smooth running of this festival over the weekend.

“I have already thanked the Officers of the Council for putting on a festival that was truly magnificent and showed Bedford off so well.”

The Mayor also gave his gratitude to the 150 police officers who were on duty at the festival and others.

Read: Live Facial Recognition at Bedford River Festival leads to two arrests

“They kept us all safe but were never intrusive. So, thank you, Bedfordshire Police Force. A final big thank you to all the volunteers, especially for the massive litter pick at 06:30 on the Sunday morning, you have all shown why Bedford is such a wonderful Town

“I would also like to thank all of the people who attended the Festival, who contributed to making this event one of the best yet, thank you.”