ORGANISERS of the city’s beer festival were raising a glass after managing to keep the drinks flowing throughout the three days.
The annual event at Worcester Racecourse was forced to close early last year when the bars ran day as volunteers struggled to cope with demand.
But there was to be no repeat as the 15th staging of the Worcester Beer, Cider and Perry Festival was hailed as a success by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which runs the event.
A total of 12,500 people flocked to the festival, which took place between Thursday, August 7 and Saturday, August 9, where they drank a variety of real ales and ciders.
Bill Ottaway, of CAMRA, said this year’s success was down to their promotion of advanced tickets, which led to a sell out on Friday, August 8.
“We managed to stay open for the whole period this time, which was great,” he said. “When we finished we still had 50 beers still available, while the last pint at the cider and perry bar was being pulled just as we were closing, so based on that we managed to achieve what we wanted to achieve.
“We had 12,500 people through the doors, which was less than last year, but that’s what we were aiming for because that meant not only were we able to stay open for the full period, but there was also not as much pressure on our volunteers who were serving at the bars.”
Mr Ottaway said the changes implemented this year, which also included the return of several food outlets instead of a single food court, were likely to remain in place for future festivals.
“When you change anything you are not sure how it is going to work,” he added. “But limiting the numbers has helped and it has also showed that there is a big demand.
“From now on I would imagine Fridays will sell out as people who were unable to get in this year because they were not aware of the situation will more than likely buy tickets in advance next time.”
The festival also collected £2,742 for charities including the Midlands Air Ambulance, Cancer Research UK and the Royal British Legion.
