Fireworks bring £9m to Plymouth says council leader

Publicity generated by the British Firework Championships in Plymouth is worth more than £9m to the city, it has been claimed.

The event, which has been held in Plymouth since 1997, was attended by 100,000 people over two days in August, a city council meeting heard.

More than 41,000 people tuned into a live stream and 548,000 were reached on social media.

"That's big numbers, a big event and we hope to keep it in Plymouth for many years to come," said council leader Tudor Evans.

The free event encourages guests to the city's hotels and diners to restaurants and cafes, boosting the local economy, said Mr Evans.

He also said the Plymouth Summer Sessions, which brought artists such as Tom Jones, Bryan Adams, Sting, Blondie and Sophie Ellis-Bextor to the Hoe was a "thoroughly good thing".

The council wants to repeat the music event next year and is liaising with organisers Live Nation about a five-year deal, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

"The summer sessions saw tens of thousands of people in Plymouth over a four-day period to watch some of the biggest acts on the planet playing on Plymouth Hoe," said Mr Evans.

"Live Nation had a team of more than 100 people who needed hotels and B&Bs between 7 and 20 June, while they were building and taking down the show."

He said Plymouth City Council's streets' team undertook traffic management, which helped to keep money in the city and the commercial team was responsible for waste management and cleaning.