Bedfordshire Police have thanked football fans and festival visitors for behaving responsibly during a major weekend of celebrations across the borough.
The praise follows the conclusion of both the England World Cup campaign and the Bedford River Festival, which saw hundreds of thousands of people gather in the town.
Superintendent Rachael Glendenning said: “We’d like to thank England fans across Bedfordshire. Their support throughout the tournament has been fantastic, with people getting behind the team in a positive and responsible way.
“The matches have been enjoyed in exactly the right spirit, and only a small number of incidents have required police intervention across the county. This reflects the overwhelmingly positive way fans have celebrated and supported the team.”
While the celebrations were largely peaceful, officers made two arrests in Bedford town centre following England’s semi-final match against Argentina.
It is currently unconfirmed whether these incidents were directly linked to the football match.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker, and he remains in police custody for questioning.
A teenager was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and remains in custody.
River Festival policing
The weekend also saw the return of the biennial Bedford River Festival, which drew over 250,000 visitors to the area.
The Bedford community policing team said on Facebook: “As another Bedford River Festival comes to a close, we’d like to thank everyone who attended and helped make it a safe and enjoyable weekend.
“Throughout the festival, Project Servator officers worked alongside our policing colleagues, partner agencies, event organisers and stewards, using unpredictable policing tactics to help target criminality, deter crime, and provide reassurance to the thousands of people who visited the town.
“Whether you saw uniformed officers, plain clothes officers, police dogs, drones, search teams, LFR and other resources, each deployment formed part of our commitment to keeping Bedford safe while ensuring everyone could enjoy the event with confidence.
“A huge thank you to our communities, residents and visitors for your support, vigilance and positive engagement with our officers throughout the weekend. Working together helps us to keep Bedford a safe place to live, work and visit.”
Read: Bedfordshire Police deploy facial recognition for 250,000 Bedford River Festival visitors
To monitor the large crowds, police deployed live facial recognition technology across the festival site on Saturday and Sunday.
The system compared live camera feeds against watchlists of wanted individuals, with images that did not trigger alerts being deleted immediately.
Eight arrests
This helped officers identify and proactively arrest five individuals wanted in connection with previous offences.
A further three people were arrested following incidents reported during the event, on suspicion of assault and intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress.
Officers also patrolled the festival site and surrounding areas, speaking with festivalgoers, including at the dedicated Blue Lights area in Russell Park.
Specialist Operation Maze burglary unit shared practical crime prevention advice, with officers speaking to people interested in a career in policing, and a contact van was available for anyone wanting to raise concerns or report an issue.
Assistant chief constable Jaki Whittred, who led the operation for the force, said: “Keeping people safe is always our top priority.
“For an event of this scale, we have comprehensive plans in place, backed by dedicated resources and specialist teams, to help keep everyone safe and respond quickly should any issues arise.
“The safety and success of this year’s festival not only reflects the efforts of all those involved in planning and delivering the event and policing operation, but also the support and spirit of everyone who attended.
“We’d like to thank festivalgoers for enjoying the celebrations responsibly, engaging with our officers and reporting concerns when needed.
“The River Festival is a showcase of the people and partnerships that make Bedford such a vibrant place, and we’re proud to have played our part in helping it to be another memorable event.”
A temporary airspace restriction was also enforced between 4am and 10pm on both days, establishing a strict drone no-fly zone across the event area.
Update: This article was updated at 13:29 on 21 July 2026 to add crime stats for the River Festival and a quote from assistant chief constable Jaki Whittred.
