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Less than 72 hours after the culmination of the 2010 Bedford River Festival and Russell Park and the Embankment show no signs of the record number of people who spent the weekend enjoying the sights and sounds of the most popular River Festival ever.

Early indications suggest more than 300,000 people visited the Festival over the weekend. Including a raft race team from Spain and one festival goer from Yorkshire who travelled south in a tractor on his way to Switzerland.

Over 5,000 people used the Park & Ride service from Elstow throughout the weekend whilst 126 boats were moored on the river.

Other facts and figures from the weekend include: Over 2,500 people took part in the paradeThe Environment Agency removed 60 tonnes of weed from the River Great Ouse in the days prior to the FestivalIt takes 5 full days to install all the infrastructure for the Festival but 2010 was the quickest breakdown and removal of equipment from the site ever.The generators hired in for the Festival would have powered the Town Hall for a week. Sunday’s raft race raised more than £15,000 for charityOver 5 kilometres of barriers were installed across the site5 miles of speaker cable and a quarter of a mile of phone cables criss-crossed the site5 music stages showcased more than 400 performers throughout the weekendOver 40 sports were on show2010 was the first time three floating pontoons were installed for additional river crossing points. This adds up to 100 metres of floating bridgesOrganisations as diverse as the Bedford Scuba divers, Fire Brigade, Natural England, NFU and the NHS attended the Festival.The Viking Kayak Club used over 1,000 glowsticks on the Illuminated Boat Parade on Saturday night…and more than 70 hairy Vikings set up camp on Castle Mound

Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: “More than 300,000 attended the River Festival this weekend and it was fantastic to see so many people enjoying the vast range of entertainment on offer.

“This was the biggest River Festival in the events 32 year history and it has grown almost beyond recognition from its humble beginnings to become one of the largest free family festivals in the country. However, the sheer number of people involved in putting on events and activities shows that it has retained its spirit as a community owned event.

“My personal highlight must be the sheer number of boats, rafts and dragon boats on the River. 126 boats were moored on the river – which is a new record and proof that the River Festival is as popular as ever.

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