Increase in ticket sales at three-day city festival

New figures show ticket sales for this year's Darley Park Weekender in Derby have increased following a significant drop last year.

Figures provided to the BBC show 10,372 tickets were sold across the three-day series of concerts from 21 to 23 August this year, compared to just more than 6,000 in 2025. In 2024, 11,000 were sold and 15,000 were purchased in 2023.

Derby City Council said Friday night was sold-out this year with 5,175 tickets bought, while 2,452 tickets were purchased for Saturday and 2,745 for Sunday.

Councillor Gurkiran Kaur said: "It was wonderful to see people of all ages coming together with friends and family to enjoy live music in one of our beautiful parks."

The event was organised by Derby LIVE and Derby City Council's events team.

Kaur, the council's cabinet member for city centre, culture and tourism, added: "A huge thank you to everyone who came along and joined the celebrations.

"The weekender has become a much-loved highlight of Derby's summer programme and we're already looking forward to welcoming audiences back to Darley Park."

Friday's line-up was headlined by singer Billy Ocean and included special guests Marti Pellow and Katrina, formerly of Katrina and The Waves.

On Saturday, boy band JLS was headlining, and Darley Park Concert concluded the festival on Sunday, with performers including orchestra Sinfonia Viva and conductor Stephen Bell.

Next year's event is scheduled to take place between 20 and 22 August.

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