VISITOR numbers for Freedom Festival were even higher than first recorded, organisers say. More than 80,000 people were said to have been at the main festival sites in the Fruit Market and Queens Gardens, exceeding last year's 75,000.
But final numbers for this year are expected to be even higher than the 80,127 recorded, with thousands more enjoying "pop-up" festival attractions in high traffic areas including Queen Victoria Square and the city's Paragon Interchange.
A date has now been penned in for next year's event, just weeks after some of the country's best talent came to the city for the celebration. It will be held from Friday, September 5, to Sunday, September 7.
Graham Chesters, chairman of the Freedom Festival Board, said: "The feedback we've received on Freedom Festival – both during and after the weekend – through direct contact, via social media channels and anecdotally, has been overwhelming. We've been absolutely thrilled by the support and encouragement in the board's first year of organising Freedom Festival. It is clear the weekend was a phenomenal success, but we're already thinking ahead to next year.
"We've heard from so many people who were massively disappointed that they couldn't make the event this year due to prior commitments and have been asking us when 2014 dates will be confirmed.
"We've decided to waste no time in confirming the dates so people can have the festival fixed in their diaries 12 months in advance."
Mr Chesters said planning for what will be another "unforgettable weekend" has already begun.
The family-friendly, three-day event is thought to have significantly boosted Hull's bid to be UK City of Culture 2017, which will be submitted on Monday, September 30.
The festival showcased 100 local acts and featured almost 200 performances in total from local, national and international artists, including French theatre group Transe Express and chart-topping indie band The 1975.
They were joined by 2Faced Dance, acrobatic troupe The Black Eagles, Dan Croll, Theme Park and Mobo award winner Akala.
The festival's opening night also saw almost 1,000 local residents taking part in a torchlight procession from the city's statue of Hull MP William Wilberforce through the Old Town.
It culminated in a "spine-tingling" recital of Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech by renowned author and poet Lemn Sissay MBE.
This year's event was the first to be programmed by festival directors Walk The Plank, who worked with local contributors to deliver the event, led by the newly-created independent board.
Dozens of locals also performed on a number of stages in and around Humber Street.
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