A week of activities organised to celebrate Hull’s success in achieving Purple Flag status will be launched with the third edition of a festival which is strengthening the city’s profile on the nationwide music map.

Hull Trinity Festival will take place in the Old Town on Friday September 20, Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22. And for the first time the event will have a focal point of a main stage in Trinity Square, featuring performances from some of the best bands in the city and the wider region, plus two headline acts who are Britpop trio Dodgy and King Charles.

Purple Flag Week will then run until Sunday September 29 with activities being planned throughout the city centre to demonstrate the variety and quality of the evening economy.

Kathryn Shillito, HullBID City Centre Manager, said: “To be awarded a Purple Flag is a great achievement and one which can be claimed by only 36 towns and cities in the UK, only three of which are in Yorkshire.

“The Purple Flag is a symbol of a centre which is recognised as a destination for a safe and enjoyable night out, and as we looked at the options for celebrating Hull’s first Purple Flag Week we decided that the Hull Trinity Festival is perfect.”

The festival will kick off on the afternoon of Saturday September 21 with bands performing in some of the pubs and café bars around the Old Town and on the main stage, which will be the focal point from early afternoon into the evening, with the bars then continuing the live entertainment into the night.

Stewart Baxter, Arts Development Worker at The Warren in Queens’ Dock Avenue, Hull, said the main stage will draw on the quality within the local and regional music scene while also featuring Dodgy and King Charles.

Among the local bands due to perform on the Saturday are The Tennents, Tayala and Black Delta Movement. Streaming Lights, The Talks and Jody McKenna are among the line-up for the Sunday.

Stewart said: “There are so many great bands in the Hull area and we’ve chosen an eclectic mix. What they have in common is quality and experience. They’ve played festivals before, they know what they’re doing and they will put on a fantastic show.
“But it’s important to bring in national bands as well because they inspire the local bands and make them work harder. It helps the local bands look at what they need to do to reach a wider audience.”

Kathryn added: “Stewart and the rest of the team at The Warren do a terrific job nurturing and promoting the local music scene. They take bands to festivals and other venues all over the country and Hull Trinity Festival will bring them home to provide top quality entertainment at our last big outdoor show of the summer.

“The other side of the festival is the indoor entertainment and we are currently working with licensees at a number of Old Town pubs, clubs and café bars to make sure the live music continues after the main stage has finished.

“We have deliberately timed the activity on the main stage to finish by 8.30pm to enable revellers to move onto the pubs and bars.  This event is to support our city centre evening economy businesses and we hope they will benefit from the volumes of people coming into the city.”

Further information:

Purple Flag: www.purpleflag.org.uk

The Warren: http://www.thewarren.org

Hull Trinity Festival: http://www.facebook.com/hulltrinityfestival