There are several prominent charities in Steep Hill with Oxfam, St Barnabas, and the British Red Cross all relying on a steady stream of customers in order to boost their sales. Now with no market, there will be a significant lack of additional customers coming to Lincoln. 
Laura Williamson, Main Volunteer, of the British Red Cross on the High Street expressed her disappointment “The store would have been three times busier; people couldn’t even walk around the shop. It’s a real shame that there won’t be a Christmas market this year.”
St Barnabas on the High Street, store manager Emma O’keefe has noticed a difference. “It’s just strange without the tourists coming down.”
Oxfam charity store on the High Street, manager, Jo Bass, says, “The lack of a Christmas market has been a good thing for the local community, but we haven’t had the influx of visitors, but our sales have stayed the same.”
Lincoln has had a Christmas market every year since 1982 being England’s oldest Christmas market and this is the first year that Lincoln will not have one present.
The biggest success of the Christmas market was last year with over 320,000 people attending providing a significant boost to the economy and local business.
During the 4-day event back in 2021, it was reported that the visitor spend was £12 million and approximately £2.65 million going back into the city.
The market would have around 150-180 stalls resulting in nearby businesses setting up shops or international businesses coming to visit and setting up stalls for customers to buy gifts, food, or drinks as well as featuring amusement rides, choirs, live entertainment, and carnival games.
Despite all this, the market this year has been cancelled, this was due to a concern of overcrowding and due to its popularity, it was becoming a safety risk for those who attended.
With the cancellation resulting in an upset with local people and businesses, there has been a motion to bring back the Christmas market, but it has since been rejected.
For further information or to find out more about each charity:
British Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us
Oxfam: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/about-us/
St Barnabas: https://stbarnabashospice.co.uk/about-us/
