Falmouth team bags coveted nationwide award for local festival

Falmouth Town Team has won the award for UK & Ireland Best Event for last year's Tall Ships festival.

Falmouth was up against dozens of other much larger towns and cities at the Association of Town & City Management UK awards.

They included events in London, Belfast, Dublin, Leeds, Manchester, all operating with bigger budgets and a much greater team resource.

Falmouth's Tall Ships event saw 15 of the world's most impressive sailing vessels in port for three days.

It included a host of activities from exhibitions to shoreside concerts, cultural exchange programmes to crew sports, and even laser displays.

The team had to secure sponsorships, and coordinate hundreds of volunteers among other duties.

Despite these challenges, Falmouth has beaten all UK ports by hosting the Tall Ships event six times.

The 2023 event was twice postponed due to the pandemic, creating an even greater challenge for the Falmouth Town Team.

They had to forge new partnerships, some international, and raise funds across three financial years.

Additionally, the team handled the logistics of the UK’s National Armed Forces Day and Falmouth Week.

Owing to budget restrictions, the team introduced the world's first online ticketing scheme for a tall ships' regatta.

Chief executive of the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) who conducted the awards, Mr Ojay McDonald said: "The work of the Falmouth Town Team consistently continues to hugely impress the ATCM and the judging panel."

Town mayor of Falmouth, Councillor Alan Rowe said: "This is brilliant news, and I am so proud of the team.

"Dozens of people gave up their time and expertise to support the team, while 250 or so volunteers engaged with us to enable the Tall Ships event to take place.

BID executive director, Richard Wilcox added: "This award is very much a team effort and I’d like to give thanks to the many people and numerous organisations who productively worked together to facilitate the return of the magnificent tall ships to our special coastal community."

This win is the fifth national award claimed by the Falmouth Town Team in five years.