Suffolk Businesses Gear Up for Latitude Festival Boost
Thousands are set to descend on Henham Park this weekend, as Latitude Festival kicks off today
While festival-goers are looking forward to headline sets from the likes of Duran Duran, Kasabian and Keane, local businesses are preparing for one of the busiest weekends of their year.
Tuppence Pain, Supervisor and Social Media Manager at the Southwold Boating Lake, says they’re expecting a major boost from the crowds.
“Latitude tends to bring Southwold a lot of business. A lot of people stay in Southwold because our buses go back and forth until about 2am, so it brings us good business,” she said.
“People also take it as an opportunity, who aren’t going to Latitude, to come to events and stuff here. I’ve got a really busy weekend coming up.”
The popular boating lake is known for its breakfast and lunch service, mini golf, and traditional pedal boats, all of which are likely to be in high demand.
“We are very weather dependent, we have a lot of outside seating,” she explained.
“If Latitude weekend has good weather, we have a lot of people who will come and have breakfast here and then get the bus to Latitude and spend the day there and come back in the evening.”
While the exact revenue from the festival weekend is hard to predict, the team are preparing with extra stock and staffing.
“We’ve got a lot of bookings, a few private bookings at the weekend. We’re making sure we’ve got enough staff on, allowing some of our staff to take days to go to Latitude. Just trying to balance all of that out really,” Tuppence said.
“We do have to get some extra bits and bobs, it’s just like preparing for when we know the weather is going to be really nice.”
Festival traffic and parking are another factor local businesses have to navigate.
“The traffic is kind of a bit of a hindering factor… It’s just letting staff know places to park. We actually do have staff parking, a lot of places in Southwold don’t,” she added.
“Latitude is kind of crazy for parking and stuff around here.”
Despite the challenges, Tuppence says the event is good for Southwold, and she’s heading to the festival herself this year.
“I put in my holiday a few months ago, so I was quite lucky to be able to have that off. I haven’t been for six years,” she said.
“I’ve worked for a lot of Latitudes throughout Southwold, so it’s quite nice to be able to go this year, actually. I’m most excited to see Basement Jaxx and Mika.”
As Latitude opens its gates on Thursday, organisers are encouraging people to shop local, explore surrounding towns, and enjoy everything Suffolk has to offer.
Tuppence agrees:
“It’s good for Southwold. This really brings a lot of people in, and then it helps get the word out for others who come here on holiday. I think overall it’s good for business.”