Thousands flock to festival that carries torch for ambition to be City of Culture

More than 65,000 flocked to the Freedom Festival, an eclectic mix of music, dance, comedy and spectacular street theatre, in the first two days, with the total likely to exceed last year’s 75,000.

The undoubted highlight was Saturday’s memorable UK first performance by Transe Express, of their show Les Tambours de la Muerte (Drums of Death), when Lady Death-on-stilts and her cohorts, three-metre high dancing skeletons and a host of drummers surged through the waterfront to a surprising finale, part rock-concert, theatre, fireworks show, on wasteland behind Humber Quays.

“Surreal, wacky, comical” sums up much of what was on offer – and the range was vast, from the “Cremulator”, a hearse with a psychedelic spinning drum and digging arm, which turned up in Queen Victoria Square to the dazzling, acrobatic Black Eagles. Music from Dan Croll and Theme Park, plus award winner Akala, drew a massive crowd at the jazz stage. But while Hull-born comedienne Lucy Beaumont was a sell-out, there was a disappointing turnout for the ticketed balletLORENT.

The festival, which began on Friday with an atmospheric procession of torchbearers, continued on Saturday night with headliners The 1975, playing to a 5,000-strong audience.

Freedom Festival chairman Graham Chesters said, while the festival – which cost more than £400,000 to stage – might not be the “deal-breaker” for City of Culture, it could not fail to help. “I think it has exceeded all expectations. It has been brilliant.

“The weather has been kind, the numbers have turned up and it seems to be incredibly family-friendly.”

Planning for up to 2017 has already started, with next year more focus on getting performances from people on city estates. “There’s all sorts of things you can do differently,” said Mr Chesters.