Bedford will be a bustling and busy town with over a quarter of a million visitors expected to attend the River Festival this weekend on July 18-19.
The two-day extravaganza is the second-largest free-to-attend event if its kind in the country – and together with Bedfordshire Police, Bedford Borough Council wants to make sure everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience.
When you arrive at the event, visitors will notice a number of festival stewards and security personnel. They will be there for visitors’ safety and to help guide people around the site.
For example, as some of the bridges will be one way only, a steward can direct visitors to the closest bridge to cross. To help people move more freely and easily across the site during the Festival, there will be three temporary two-way pontoon bridges installed across the River Great Ouse. Go to the full Bedford River Festival programme for details here.
On Saturday, from 5am there will be road closures in place in the town centre, including the High Street and The Embankment, until Sunday evening at 11.59pm. There will also be special types of barriers across the roads at certain locations to prevent any vehicle from entering the event.
For the safety of everyone attending the Bedford River Festival, a temporary airspace restriction is in place between 4am and 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. No drones are allowed within the restricted area. The Council strongly recommends that visitors do not bring their own drones to the event. Bedfordshire Police has emphasised that flying a drone within the restriction is an offence.
To continue keeping visitors safe, Bedfordshire Police will be also using Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology at the River Festival. LFR compares images from a live camera feed against a pre-established watchlist of people, such as individuals who are wanted by the police or the courts or subject to bail conditions or specific court orders. If a potential match is identified, officers are alerted and carry out further checks to confirm the person's identity before any action is taken.
Images that generate an alert are retained only for as long as necessary. They are deleted within 24 hours unless a match is made and deemed necessary for investigation purposes. Images and biometric data of individuals who do not generate an alert are instantly and permanently deleted.
LFR may also be used to help locate and safeguard vulnerable people, including high-risk missing persons and victims of crime.
The Bedford Borough Council Community Safety team will be based in The Blue Lights area in Russell Park, near the tennis courts. Here, parents can pick up wristbands that are available for children to wear and include their contact details, in case they become separated.
Visitors can also learn about what our local emergency services partners (including Bedfordshire Police and Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service) manage all year round in The Blue Lights area.
The Council encourages visitors to support official trade stalls and local businesses around the site, but also welcomes festival goers to bring their own food and drink, as with previous River Festivals.
To help keep our parks and open spaces safe and welcoming for everyone, visitors are asked not to bring glass bottles or containers onto the site. Broken glass poses a risk to adults, children and pets, and can damage the quality of our shared green areas.
The Council supports a cleaner, safer and more enjoyable environment for all. If you do bring in your own food, there are many bins put out across the site to keep the area clean. Also, the Council has encouraged traders, caterers and other commercial services taking part in this year’s Bedford River Festival to use commercial food waste collection points, which will be available on site in Russell Park.
Due to the number of expected visitors to the River Festival, signal reception in the area may be poor. And some trade stalls may not have a card payment option, so it is a good idea to bring cash.
Cllr Andrea Spice, Portfolio Holder for Economic Prosperity, Planning, Housing and Regulatory Services said; “Safety is our top priority at this year’s River Festival, and we want to ensure everyone has a superb time but also stays safe throughout the event. We are working closely together with Bedfordshire Police and other organisations to ensure this.
“There will be numerous festival stewards, security personnel, police officers and our Council Community Safety team who will be visible and approachable to make sure visitors have a fun but safe experience.”
Jaki Whittred, Bedfordshire Police Assistant Chief Constable added; “Bedford River Festival is a much-loved event that brings communities together, and as always, we are working closely with Bedford Borough Council and partner organisations to ensure a safe, secure and enjoyable event for all.
“Our officers will be out across the Festival providing a visible and reassuring presence, and we will be carrying out a range of proactive policing activity before, during and after the event to help prevent and deter crime. While we have extensive plans in place, everyone attending can also help us keep the Festival safe by remaining vigilant, looking after one another, and reporting anything suspicious or out of the ordinary to an officer or security staff member.”
For more information about the Bedford River Festival, click here.
Download the full Bedford River Festival programme here.