Swansea Labour proud of city’s purple flag status
The Swansea Labour-led Council is celebrating today after the city has been awarded the prestigious Purple Flag accreditation for an eighth consecutive year for its evening and night-time economy (ENTE) Similar to the Blue Flag for beaches, the Purple Flag aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 5pm and 5am.
Areas awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.
Labour Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, the council's cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: "It's great to have retained the prestigious Purple Flag. Swansea city centre is a vibrant and viable place that keeps visitors coming back for more and is being boosted by our £1bn regeneration programme.
"Great initiatives by our evening and night-time economy partnership have a chance to flourish so everyone has a great time out in a safe environment.
"The success reflects all the hard work by partners that helps make the city centre evening and night-time visiting experience as vibrant, safe, diverse and enjoyable as possible.
"We have won the status every year since 2015 and were determined to gain the recognition again. All partners work together on our Purple Flag bid and on driving a strategy for the continuous improvement of our city centre's evening and night-time economy. All partners involved deserve huge credit.”
Partners involved in the management of Swansea's evening and night-time economy include Swansea Council, Swansea BID (Business Improvement District), South Wales Police, Swansea Street Pastors, St John Ambulance, Swansea University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, many city centre businesses, Swansea Bay University Health Board and several local developers.
Swansea is one of only two places in Wales that can fly the flag which highlights how visitors can always expect an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night out. Swansea was the first in Wales to achieve the accolade.
Swansea city centre was first awarded the status in 2014 in recognition of the excellence of its evening and night-time economy between 5pm and 5am.
Highlights from Swansea’s submission include the extensive regeneration work in the city, the development of the safe space scheme, and the creation of #UniteForTheNight.
Despite the threat of COVID-19 the city centre has emerged from a difficult two years and having the Purple Flag has been important to those areas like Swansea that hold the accreditation during lockdown.
