In 2017, Blackburn with Darwen Council hosted the first ever National Festival of Making, taking over streets in the town with art, performance, tours, talks, markets and street food. When the festival returned in 2018, it generated an economic benefit of almost £1m, and over 10,000 people from around the UK and from overseas visited. There were over 100 workshops, supported by 130 volunteers. It was recently shortlisted in the UK Festival Awards, and has provided a huge tourism boost for the town.

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In 2018 Wolverhampton City Council held the Enjoy Wolverhampton programme of events, which ran over 22 days and was promoted extensively beyond the city and on local and national media. The showpiece Festival of Food and Drink attracted over 25,000 visitors, which brought an economic benefit to the city of almost half a million pounds. Enjoy Wolverhampton also included an Armed Forces Day, art exhibitions, concerts and free fitness activities.