River of Light celebrates its most successful year ever

The 2024 River of Light festival was the most successful edition in its history, doubling visitor numbers and contributing an impressive £18.9 million to the local economy.

River of Light illuminated Liverpool’s city centre and proved to be a significant boost for businesses and tourism in the city.

At Liverpool ONE, in comparison to the impact of the 2023 edition of River of Light, there was a huge spike in footfall during 5-9pm, with reports of an 11% increase in footfall with almost one million visitors to the retail and leisure complex during River of Light, while restaurants saw a 22 per cent increase in sales. 

Over at Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, many of the outlets there benefitted from River of Light. Rosa’s Thai experienced its biggest sales since it opened in 2019, Francie’s Focaccia & Coffee – which went viral on social media for its hot chocolate – had an impressive 40% increase in sales, and Gusto welcomed a different, younger clientele to what they are used to, with non-stop business each event night, from 4-11pm.

Liverpool BID Company which represents city centre businesses reported a significant increase in footfall around the Church Street, Lord Street and Whitechapel areas throughout the duration of the event period in comparison to 2023, with just over 186,000 extra people recorded. Numbers peaked on Saturday 2 November when there was a 122% increase in the number of visitors. 

Hotel occupancy also increased in comparison to 2023, an indication that people from outside Liverpool City Region are travelling to enjoy the light trail. There was a 96.6% occupancy rate on 1 November – up 17% on the previous year.  

Research from North West Research – part of the Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership – also showed that of the audience surveyed, 55% responded to say that they don’t attend any other cultural events or activity during the course of a year, reinforcing how crucial the festival is in engaging the widest possible audience in free, world-class art. 

Around 30% of those surveyed had never been to River of Light before, and 83% said they are likely to return to Liverpool again.  

It also proved a huge hit online with 1.1 million views across the official Visit Liverpool event pages – the site’s highest web traffic for the site in that period, with interest from across the UK, Spain, Germany and the United States.

River of  light will be back for the eight time from Friday 24 October to Sunday 2 November, this year’s theme will be Optics – Science and Light.

Find all the latest news across Liverpool City Region HERE.