Hull's Freedom Festival extends events over five days

A major arts festival that celebrates Hull's links with anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce has been expanded to last five days.

The Freedom Festival is to run from 28 August to 1 September with street theatre, art and music events at locations across the city centre.

About 130,000 visitors attended over three days last year, organiser said.

Artistic director Mikey Martins said: "A festival powered by people, that's what Freedom Festival is."

The event, now in its 12th year, "will expand our indoor programme following on from the huge success and feedback from last year's ticketed programme of events", he added.

The mostly free programme is presented on the street and in unusual spaces and also brings together circus, dance and exhibitions.

There were 200 events last year and organiser said it brought a £4.3m boost to the city's economy.

The programme for this year's Freedom Festival, which will run from 28 August until 1 September, is to be announced in May.

It is delivered by Freedom Arts Trust, a not-for-profit organisation formed in 2013.

The festival was originally established in 2007 as part of commemorations of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.

Meanwhile, Katy Fuller of Absolutely Cultured, the company that took over from Hull City of Culture, has announced she is to leave her job of creative director.

The company said it was yet to start looking for her replacement.

Its job is to build on the city's year in the cultural spotlight in 2017 when its tenure as UK City of Culture attracted an audience of more than five million people.

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