Top 5 reasons why people were put off attending Dundee’s Christmas revealed

Residents and visitors to Dundee have revealed the reasons why they were put off attending Dundee’s Christmas.

The event was held in City Square between November and January and featured an ice rink, a big wheel, fairground rides and several market stalls.

About 157,000 visitors made their way to Dundee’s Christmas and, as revealed by The Courier, it was well-received with 87% of people rating it as excellent or very good in an online survey.

The event also generated about £2.6 million for the city’s economy.

However, a report into the event has also revealed the top five reasons why some people were put off.

The reasons are set out below, in order of the ones cited most by survey participants.

1. ‘Link’ to ill-fated Dundee Winterfest

The highest number of respondents who gave reasons for not attending – 43% – said they did not visit due to perceptions that the market was linked to the previous ill-fated Winterfest event.

Winterfest was held at Slessor Gardens for two years but then failed to open in 2023 after a planned move to City Square.

A series of emails later revealed the chaos and confusion behind the doomed plans.

Winterfest was run by M&N Events but Dundee’s Christmas was operated by NL Productions – a separate firm.

Both events were supported by the council.

2. City centre crime and anti-social behaviour

The survey revealed that 36% of people who did not attend were reluctant to visit Dundee city centre due to concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime.

Problems with anti-social behaviour have been persistent in the area for many months and have continued into 2025.

In February, McDonald’s franchisee Nick McPartland called out “social media one-upmanship” after a series of fires at his Reform Street restaurant.

He said: “Youths keep putting people in danger for social media attention.”

3. Value for money

Some 33% of respondents believed the event would be expensive and not offer value for money.

That was reflected in the comments of  Courier readers who had attended the event, with some saying they found the attractions to be costly.

4. ‘Poor’ event offering

Just under a third of respondents to the survey said they believed the event’s offering would be poor and cited this as a reason for not attending.

Dundee’s Christmas promised 10 market stalls, a real ice rink, a funfair and a Santa Claus experience.

However, not all the stalls were filled.

Chris Heather, who runs Heather Street Food outside the V&A, was among those who hired a chalet.

He told The Courier that the market had “potential” for success with some changes, including increasing the size of the ice rink.

5. Negative opinions of Dundee City Council

The fifth most common reason given by respondents for not attending – 22% – was negative opinions of Dundee City Council and negative political views.

However, the report did not elaborate on what had caused these opinions to be formed.

Dundee’s Christmas will not return in 2025, with the council opting to return to traditional celebrations like a tree in City Square and a lights switch-on night.

When asked to comment on the survey, the council said a committee of councillors would consider a report on the event “in due course”.