The annual celebration of the Purple Flag programme, which recognises excellence in the management of the evening and night-time economy in the UK and Ireland, will be taking place on the weekend of the 2 – 4 October.
Towns and cities across the country are planning a wide-range of events to not only showcase the quality, diversity and vibrancy of their evening and night-time economy, but also to challenge the common negative, stereotypical perceptions about the safety and quality of our town and city centres during the evening.
Liverpool’s purple flag will be flying from the Town Hall and a number of city centre bars will also be showing their support by also flying the flag at different times during the weekend. Liverpool ONE will also be flying the Purple Flag at Chavasse Park.
Councillor Emily Spurrell, mayoral lead for community safety, said: “We are very proud that we gained Purple Flag Status. It shows that Liverpool city centre is vibrant and well managed – and it is one of the safest city centres in the country. So we will be flying the flag to let people know that we are celebrating our great night-time economy.”
The ‘after dark’ economy is worth over £66bn annually to the UK, supporting thousands of businesses, employing 4.5% of the UK workforce , and significantly contributing to local economies. This series of events intends to capture people’s imaginations, change perceptions and encourage people to do something different with their evening in a variety of locations.
The Purple Flag programme is run by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM). Shanaaz Carroll, CEO (Interim) of the ATCM said:”There are now almost 70 towns and cities across the UK and Ireland who are proudly flying the Purple Flag after working hard to gain accreditation.
“The award is not just about safety, but also the vibrancy and diversity of the evening and night-time offer â this can only be achieved by people working together and across the country we are seeing some amazing examples of this type of partnership working.
“It is great to see so many towns and cities really celebrating their Purple Flag achievement and putting so much effort into the weekend.”
The Purple Flag programme was developed following the Civic Trust’s “Night Vision” report in 2006, and is now managed by the Association of Town & City Management.
Purple Flag is:
• An accreditation process similar to Green Flag Award for parks and Blue Flag for beaches. It leads to Purple Flag status for town centres that meet or surpass the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.
• A comprehensive set of standards, management processes and good practice examples designed to help transform town and city centres at night.
• A research, training and development programme, to help towns and cities improve their evening and night-time economy.
• A positive initiative that indicates an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night out.
