Thousands of visitors are about to discover that Luton is more than an airport and a football team. Coldplay, Raye and Chase & Status will headline the Radio 1 Big Weekend at Stockwood Park from Friday. The Bedfordshire town has even inspired Canadian film makers to produce an unofficial advert. Here’s five things you need to know about the town everyone is talking about.
What’s with the hats?
Hats play a massive part in Luton history, which is why the football club, founded in 1885, is nicknamed “The Hatters”.
In 2023 hats worn by Beyoncé, Johnny Depp and Doctor Who went on display as part of an exhibition at Stockwood Park Discovery Centre.
Straw boat hats became fashionable in the 18th Century, but Luton had started making them in the 17th Century, due to an abundance of raw materials locally.
The town was home to 500 hat manufacturers in the 1800s with children as young as three attending special schools where they would learn to plait straw.
However, by the end of the century the demand for plait and straw hats declined in favour of trendier felt versions.
By the 1930s, the town was a world leader in hat production, making more than 70 million every year.
Workers developed useful engineering skills and the industry new companies into the town, with car production taking off.
Many of the town’s hat factories were demolished or converted to other uses and today only a few manufacturers remain.
One of them, the Hat Factory Arts Centre, can be seen as you exit Luton Railway Station, and anyone unable to get a Big Weekend ticket can watch the festival in the former factory.
The Flamingos of Luton
In the 1960s, work began on the largest undercover shopping centre in Europe.
The Grade II listed buildings in the centre of Luton were demolished to clear space for the Arndale Centre, which opened in 1972.
It was renamed The Mall Luton after it was bought by Capital & Regional in 2006 and is set to be renamed again to Luton Point after Fraser Group bought the site in 2023.
Lutonians fondly remember a fountain inside the Arndale Centre decorated with eight giant flamingos.
During a refurbishment in the 1990s the fountain was replaced by a smaller display of flamingos in flight hanging from the ceiling.
Those were later removed and replaced again, this time by colourful flamingos painted on a wall.
The smaller fibreglass flamingos were refurbished and installed in Hat Gardens on Silver street in 2023.
People who know more about the location of the fountain have been asked to contact the council.
An international party
Every year since 1976 thousands have lined the streets for a colourful parade of costumes, music and dancing.
Luton International Carnival is commissioned by Luton Borough Council and produced by the UK Carnival Arts Centre. It brings together local schools, amateur groups and professional carnival performers from all over the world.
Although inspired by African-Caribbean culture, executive director Claudette Whittingham described carnival as a “global tradition”.
She said: “Luton is a very diverse community so we’re inviting those communities to come and bring their carnival traditions and put them on show.”
According to the council, 55% of the town’s residents are from diverse backgrounds, with around 150 different languages and dialects spoken in the borough.
Luton has long been a magnet for immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, South Asia, the Caribbean and parts of Europe.
A 2021 census revealed that more than half of Luton’s population are non-white and the most common languages are English, Urdu and Polish.
A spokesperson said: “We’re incredibly proud of the diverse community we have in Luton, and the ways in which they are able to interact with, educate and inspire one another daily.”
Famous faces
Luton has also produced several recognisable faces (and voices) over the last few decades.
Turn on the TV and see Luton-born stars such as actress Emily Atack, documentarian Stacey Dooley and Chaser Paul Sinha.
EastEnders star Colin Salmon attended Ramridge Primary School and Ashcroft High School.
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