Limavady's Stendhal Festival seeks help from Causeway Coast and Glens Council to grow

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Councillors heard a presentation by the festival’s founders at Tuesday’s Leisure and Development Committee meeting.

During the presentation, they said the event had become a “beacon of arts and culture in Northern Ireland” and described it as “the Glastonbury of Northern Ireland, on a nanoscale”.

“We have brought joy to tens of thousands of people and created life-long memories,” they added. “Over the years, Stendhal has been worth £21 million in direct and indirect expenditure, and last year alone we had £2.6 million in economic impact.

“We’ve welcomed over 72,000 visitors and have given a platform and employment to thousands of event-makers and artists. Community really is at the heart of Stendhal, and when we started this shindig we wanted to bring something to Limavady that would inspire, capture imagination, and be something to be very proud of.

“What we have achieved, without much support from central government, is quite remarkable,” he said. “And we’re very thankful to the Causeway Coast, our biggest supporter. Despite your excellent support, Stendhal has been done on a shoestring, and for 13 years we have been robbing Peter to pay Paul.

“We have huge potential to grow and develop, and by 2030 we want to have a world class outdoor facility in Limavady. This is definitely a pipe dream, but it would set a standard of where we want to be and what we can do.

“We need to grow the festival from its current 12,000 capacity to 17,000 or 18,000, which will need a significant adjustments to our infrastructure.”

SDLP Councillor Ashleen Schenning praised the festival as “fantastic” and said she was “really interested in seeing it move forward”.

Cllr Schenning said: “This year, one of the community houses used it as a campsite, and I think there’s so much more potential if the infrastructure was right.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Cara McShane said that arts events were essential, particularly after the Covid pandemic.

“We’re seeing the importance and need for investment within the art and music sector, and we haven’t maybe given it the support we should,” she said.