A five per cent footfall rise at Fenwick is the only 2026 figure the council has published for the Castle Summer Series. The £24m and £6.5m both come from a 2024/25 report.
Colchester City Council says this summer’s Castle Summer Series delivered “a significant economic boost” to the city, with shops reporting Christmas-level trading. It has published one figure from 2026 to support that: a rise of about five per cent in footfall at Fenwick.
Everything else in the council’s statement of 22 September is either a quote from a business or a number from last year.
What the businesses said
The concerts in Lower Castle Park in August featured Billy Ocean, Becky Hill, Hollywood Vampires, Bastille, Richard Ashcroft and Fatboy Slim. The council names four city centre businesses that reported a lift:
- Fenwick Colchester, where store footfall rose by “approximately five per cent”, with the strongest days on concert days
- Claydons, an independent retailer, whose spokesperson said: “The boost from the Summer Series really helped us this year and I’m sure many other businesses felt the same, particularly independents. The town was buzzing, which was really lovely to see.”
- Chappell’s and The George, listed alongside Millets as reporting trading comparable to Christmas
- Millets, which the council says sold out of raincoats by 10am before the final two concerts
Mark Turner, Store Director at Fenwick Colchester, said the series “continues to be a brilliant showcase for Colchester”. Fenwick sponsored the VIP lounge and ran a loyalty offer around the events, which the council’s statement notes.
One oddity is worth flagging, because it changes what the release appears to claim. The Fenwick paragraph appears twice. The first version gives the five per cent. The second, further down the same page, says footfall was “significantly rising” and drops the number.
The £24m figure is from 2024/25, not this summer
The larger numbers in the release are borrowed from an earlier announcement. On 26 March 2026 the council published the findings of an independent economic impact report by Counterculture Partnership LLP, covering the 2024/25 financial year. That report put the total economic impact of the whole Amphora Events programme at £23.9 million, which the council headlined as £24 million.
Its breakdown named two strands:
- £6.5 million from the Castle Summer Series, including thousands of overnight stays
- £6 million in visitor spending from Charter Hall’s live music and comedy programme
That leaves £11.4 million of the £23.9 million total unaccounted for in the council’s own summary. The council’s March release does not say which venues or events made up the rest, and it does not publish the Counterculture report itself. The remaining figure above is our subtraction from the council’s published numbers, not something Counterculture stated.
The same March release gives the programme “almost 300,000 attendees” in 2024/25, including 179,000 visitors from outside the city. Those are the visitor numbers still being cited six months later, because no 2026 equivalents have been put out.
Who Amphora is
Amphora Events is part of Amphora Trading Ltd, company number 10799072, registered at Rowan House on Sheepen Road. The council describes the events arm as “wholly owned by Colchester City Council”. The company was called Colchester Amphora Trading Limited until 20 April 2026.
This matters for when an independent check becomes possible. The company’s last filed accounts run to 31 March 2025. Its next set, for the year to 31 March 2026, is not due until 31 December 2026, and that year covers the 2025 concerts rather than this summer’s. Figures covering the August 2026 series fall in the year to March 2027. Company accounts measure the company’s own trading rather than the wider economic impact on the city, so they answer a narrower question, but they are the nearest thing to an audited number on the public record.
What it means for you
If you run a city centre business, the useful part of the release is not the money but the pattern: the council’s own account is that the spending happens across the day around a concert, not only in the park. If you are planning for next August, the first two nights are already set.
Simply Red play Lower Castle Park on 18 August 2027 and Ronan Keating and Blue on 21 August. We have set out the dates, the presales and the entry conditions, including the fact that re-entry is not allowed on either night.
Getting into town on concert nights is covered on our Colchester roadworks and travel page, and city centre tariffs on our parking in Colchester page.
Sources
- Amphora Events delivers a major economic boost through Colchester Castle Summer Series 2026, Colchester City Council, 22 September 2026, for the Fenwick footfall figure, the business names and quotes, the artist line-up and the 2027 announcement. The duplicated Fenwick paragraph was on the page when we read it on 24 September 2026.
- Amphora Events delivers £24 million boost to Colchester economy, Colchester City Council, 26 March 2026, for the Counterculture Partnership LLP report, the £23.9m total, the £6.5m and £6m strands, and the attendance and visitor numbers for 2024/25.
- Amphora Trading Ltd, company 10799072, Companies House, for the ownership, registered office, previous name and change of name on 20 April 2026, the last accounts made up to 31 March 2025 and the next accounts due by 31 December 2026.
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