SOUTHAMPTON's first ever Common People festival has been hailed a "rip-roaring" success - while boosting the local economy by an estimated £1 million.

And now the Daily Echo can reveal the two-day event will be back next year.

Organisers Josie and Rob da Bank said 35,000 people attended the inaugural festival last month.

It saw sets from Fatboy Slim, Grace Jones, Jaguar Skills, DJ Yoda, The Cuban Brothers, Band of Skulls, Years & Years and Clean Bandit.

Daily Echo:

Rob da Bank, pictured above, said: "It was a great success from all sides. The sun was shining, the common looked great and Southampton didn't grind to a halt or end up in disarray!

"We achieved what we set out to do.

"There were so many things that could and do go wrong at festivals - the weather for a start, but it was lovely and we sold tickets well in advance; 35,000 people came and the headliners were great as well as the local band stage too."

Daily Echo:

"We have lots of experience but you never know; anything can go wrong at any point."

"The council want us back and all those in the Common Appreciation Society as we left it spotless for them.

"The local economy felt the benefits too as about £1 million in extra income came into the city over the weekend.

"We know that 29 per cent of the visitors were from outside the area and many would have stayed in local hotels.

 "It will be back the same weekend with the same idea. We are not planning to expand wildly.

"It will be the same kind of experience with exactly the same format.

"The bank holiday worked very well and the transport worked well with the park and ride, so it will be more of the same.

"Grace Jones said she had "a wild time". She was amazing. That was her first big show of the year - it didn't come off the back of a tour.

"She was nervous about the show and was pleased with the reception she got.

"The acts all loved it."

Cllr Satvir Kaur, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Leisure commented: “It’s fair to say that Bestival’s first Common People event was a rip roaring success.

"More than 35,000 people, many of whom were local residents, took in the sights and sounds of what this glorious festival had to offer.

"Not only was the event extremely well organised, it ensured there was something for everyone and made me extremely proud of our city.

"I’m looking forward to continuing our relationship with Bestival to ensure that next year’s event is even bigger and better!

Daily Echo:

Commenting on Common People’s First Headline Set, Fatboy Slim (pictured above) said: “I am now living for the love of the common people!

"What a site! What a crowd! What a night! A thousand thanks to Bestivalites, the Sotonians, and particularly the Resonance choir for making the event so special. Folks, I think there is a new festival on the calender...”

The £1 million estimated income for the local economy was calculated using Visit Britain’s Economic Impact Calculator.

This is thanks to a policy of booking local bands and DJs and using local food and drink suppliers, to local shops selling tickets attracting new customers, their tie-ins with The Joiners, Junk, Switch, Nuffield Theatre, The Stage Door, Hampshire Cricket, Southampton FC and the Southampton Half-Marathon.

It also led to an increased use of public transport across the bank holiday weekend as well as more hotel and bed and breakfast bookings for in the city as people stayed for the weekend.

Some 29 per cent of the crowd were from outside SO postcodes.

"That’s something we’re very proud of," Rob said.

"Thanks to all the people of Southampton and to all those who showed faith in our event.

"There were a few people nervous about what we were going to do. We'd never done anything like this before in a city.

"It had its challenges and was a great experiment that went 100 per cent right."