Questions have been asked about why Dundee’s Christmas village has been scrapped for 2025 – despite bringing a £2.6 million economic boost to the city.
Dundee’s Christmas ran between late November and early January at City Square.
It featured an ice rink, a big wheel and other children’s rides, a Santa experience and several market stalls.
However, after just one year, the event has been scrapped in favour of traditional celebrations like a lights switch-on night.
That is despite the event generating an estimated £2.6m boost for the city’s economy, according to a report evaluating its success.
The report – which has yet to be released publicly and was only obtained by The Courier through Freedom of Information – shows Dundee’s Christmas attracted 157,000 visitors.
Dundee’s Christmas highly rated by visitors
Of the near-9,000 people who took part in an online survey, 82% of respondents said they would return.
The survey also found 87% of people rated the event as excellent or very good.
Nearly a quarter stayed over during their visit to Dundee for the event while 87% ate in a local restaurant or cafe.
The report said that for every £1 spent by the council, the event generated £14 for the city’s economy.
Chris Heather, who runs Heather Street Food outside the V&A, was among those who hired a chalet at Dundee’s Christmas.
He says it is “sad” the event will not return – and that some changes could have made it a “special” part of the city’s festive offering.
He told The Courier: “The market had potential – it looked the part in the square and with a few tweaks it could have been successful.
“For example, if they made the ice rink a bit bigger and had some Christmas rides that were not so expensive and were different from the carnival we get quite often in Dundee.
“I think part of the problem was, it was so expensive to run one of the chalets that we had to charge more than usual.
“It was £10,000 upfront for the chalet and in the end, we spent a lot of money.
“In terms of footfall, it was also really quiet during the day, we would only have maybe two sales in four hours.
“It didn’t have a long launch time so there wasn’t much time for people to get involved, but it is a shame it won’t be returning because it could have been something special.
“A lot of the chalets were empty because of the expensive upfront fee.”
Among the negative feedback from visitors was that there was a lack of market stalls and visitors would have liked more food and funfair options.
There were also concerns from customers about the cost.
Market brought ‘festive cheer’
Chris added: “It is sad the market is not coming back as it had potential and I would have considered it again, but there would have to be changes.
“December can be a dark and cold month. People usually travel to Edinburgh for the markets, so having something local could have brought a bit of festive cheer as there’s not much like that in Dundee.”
Many support the return of the traditional celebrations, but there are claims the council has not been “transparent” about the performance of last year’s event.
Councillor Fraser Macpherson, leader of the opposition Lib Dem group, said: “There needs to be a proper report on proposals coming to committee urgently for councillors to make decisions transparently, which is what should have happened in the first place.”
The Courier asked Dundee City Council a series of questions about why the Christmas village had been scrapped in light of the positive impact, and whether feedback would be considered ahead of the 2025 light switch-on event.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “A report will be considered by (a) committee (of councillors) in due course.”
Dundee’s Christmas followed a chaotic 2023 festive period when a planned Winterfest event failed to go ahead.
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