After its 40-year anniversary in 2022, local councillors have decided to bring the Lincoln Christmas Market to a close.
The City of Lincoln Council met on Monday, 20 February and agreed that the event’s £260,000 budget could be spent on other events throughout the year.
Last Christmas saw 320,000 visitors to the market in four days; 50,000 more than its ideal capacity.
As well as putting more funding into year-wide events, the council will be replacing the Christmas Market with the ‘Christmas in Lincoln’ campaign.
This will be a six-week long event in the city centre and uphill Lincoln.
Members of the public, traders and stakeholders will later take part in a Policy Scrutiny Committee to state their opinions on the plans.
Over 3,700 people signed a petition to save the Christmas Market.
Lincoln BIG said: “Lincoln Christmas Market has continuously brought in a significant number of visitors to the city.
“However, as the city continues to host these experiences for both locals and visitors alike, on a more regular basis throughout the year, we anticipate this will help increase local spending and footfall more often.
“The Christmas Market played a crucial role in boosting our members in the retail and hospitality sector after such a tough time, but going forward, we look forward to working with our members and the City Council to see how Christmas in Lincoln will be developed as well as the wider events calendar, throughout the whole Christmas period and beyond.
“Recently we have seen other cities cancel their Christmas Markets, including Leeds, Glasgow and Southampton due to lack of funds and safety of visitors, so Lincoln isn’t alone.”