Chester flying the Purple Flag in 2025

Chester has retained the prestigious Purple Flag accreditation for its evening and night-time economy.

Chester Town Hall, The Eastgate Clock and Newgate will be lit purple this weekend (14 to 16 February). The city first achieved Purple Flag status in 2018.

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 residents.

Highlights from Chester’s submission included the positive trial of the Street Angels, the strong relationships with residents, with representation of Purple Flag at the residents conference, and the diverse events calendar, in particular the hosting of the Pride event.

Councillor Christine Warner, Cabinet Member for Homes, Planning and Safer Communities said:

“It’s particularly fitting at the same time Chester is being crowned as one of the world’s most welcoming cities that we can keep flying the Purple Flag in recognition of Chester remaining safe and welcoming during the evening.

“None of this would be possible without the many city centre partners working together to ensure Chester remains safe and welcoming. Chester welcomed  16,859,128 visitors last year a 1.7 per cent increase on the previous year.

“We will be celebrating the Purple Flag this week by lighting the Eastgate Clock, Town Hall and Newgate purple.”

Chester has been voted the tenth most welcoming city in the world and the most welcoming place in the UK in a recent survey based on traveller reviews. The rankings were drawn up by travel website, Booking.com, with entries identified based on the number of Traveller Review Awards each has.

The Purple Flag programme was developed following the Civic Trust’s “Night Vision” report in 2006 and is now managed by the Association of Town & City Management.

Carl Critchlow, CEO of Chester BID said:

“We’re pleased that once again Chester has received its Purple Flag Renewal Accreditation. The accreditation is a testament to the quality of our night-time economy and the dedication of our hospitality businesses, who ensure a safe, welcoming environment for visitors to the city.”

Inspector James Wilson, of Chester Local Policing Unit, added: “Chester is a great place to visit and officially the most welcoming place in the UK, and I welcome the Purple Flag accreditation given to the city.

“We work closely with all our partners across Chester to ensure those enjoying the night time economy can do so safely, including Cheshire West and Chester Council, businesses and private security, amongst others.

“Our officers are committed to protecting our residents and visitors and we will continue working hard to keep Chester safe for everyone.”

Keeping the city safe is a partnership between Cheshire West and Chester Council, the Chester BID, Cheshire Police, Chester Against Business Crime, Pubwatch, the University of Chester, Chester Residents' Associations Group, and several third sector groups.

Consumer spend in the UK Night-time Economy was worth £136.5bn in 2022 (NTIA Night-Time Economy Report 2024), supporting thousands of businesses, employing 2.08m of the UK workforce (NTIA Night-Time Economy Report 2024), and significantly contributing to local economies. This series of events intends to capture people’s imaginations, change perceptions and encourage people to do something different with their evening in a variety of locations.

About Purple Flag:

There are over 80 Purple Flag destinations around the globe across the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Malta, New Zealand and Australia. This includes world renowned tourist destinations to small market towns. Purple Flag has represented the gold standard of the management of evening and night time economies for nearly 15 years.

The Purple Flag programme was developed following the Civic Trust’s “Night Vision” report in 2006 and is now managed by the Association of Town & City Management.

Purple Flag is:

• An accreditation process similar to Green Flag Award for parks and Blue Flag for beaches. It leads to Purple Flag status for town centres that meet or surpass the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.
• A comprehensive set of standards, management processes and good practice examples designed to help transform town and city centres at night.
• A research, training and development programme, to help towns and cities improve their evening and night-time economy.
• A positive initiative that indicates an entertaining, diverse, safe and enjoyable night out.