Sea festival visitor total falls short

Published on Monday 26 May 2003 01:00

POLICE today estimated that 43,000 people visited Leith’s much-heralded Festival of the Sea over the weekend.

The figures for the first three days of the four-day event are well below the number of people expected to turn up to the maritime event. Weather was a factor, but high ticket price was also thought to have played a part.

Organisers said before the festival on Friday that they expected to attract 125,000 people in total, but those estimates seemed overconfident yesterday. Organisers said crowds were down on Friday, but had picked up on Saturday and yesterday.

Festival spokeswoman, Sue McKichen, said today that final figures for the four-day event, which ends today, would not be released until later in the week.

She said: "It was a slow start on Friday, but as the weather improved more and more people came out."

Performers at the event said they had also noticed that fewer people than usual had bothered to come out.

Sergeant Ian Roy, a member of the Royal Marine Commando Display Team, said: "It has been much quieter than we had expected, but normally these events are free. We think the ticket price put people off."

A police spokesman said the event had passed off peacefully, as expected, and that the 43,000 figure was expected to rise today due to it being a Monday holiday.

An international fleet of at least 200 boats and tall ships have taken part in the maritime festival.