The second Final of The FA Women's Cup staged in Nottingham beat last year's record crowd by 53.

The event was watched by 24,582 people at the City Ground and was seen by millions more on the BBC.

The event, sponsored by E.ON, returned to Nottingham for the second time in May and this year, Nottingham City Council with support from Rushcliffe Borough Council, East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and a range of partners aimed to make it even bigger and better than before.

Once again The FA Women’s Cup Final was the pinnacle of the Nottingham Festival of Women's Football, a fantastic three day event which unites the clubs, players and fans of the women's game.

The festival took place Saturday 3 - Monday 5 May, with The FA Women’s Cup Final being played out on Bank Holiday Monday, 1pm at the City Ground between Arsenal and Leeds United.

Councillor David Trimble, Portfolio holder for Communities, Leisure and Culture said: "As a city we were thrilled to host The FA Women’s Cup Final for the second year running. We were also pleased to support the Final with our festival of women’s football, which has united a variety of partners from across the region to create a really exciting and engaging programme of women’s and girls’ football."

emda is one of the partners supporting the festival and Tracy Croft, East Midlands Coordinator for the 2012 Games at emda explains their involvement, "emda is proud to once again support the Women’s Football Festival. In the years running up to the 2012 Games and beyond our ambition is to inspire a new generation into sport and physical activity. The festival showcases Nottingham’s strengths by marrying elite events with community focused opportunities open to everyone."

Saturday 3 May saw an exciting free Girls’ Football Challenge in the Old Market Square featuring:

• guest player appearances
• giant inflatable fastest shot and target shooting competitions
• demos from some of the cities best girls' and women's football clubs
• performances by Dan Magness and Charlotte Lade - amazing football freestylers
• plus bands and face painters creating a real carnival atmosphere

There was also information on how to start playing women's and girls' football and how to set up a club. On Sunday 4 May the best players in Nottinghamshire competed in Cup Final action at the Nottinghamshire Girls' and Women’s League Cup Finals, at Gresham Sports Park, Wilford Lane, West Bridgford from 10.30am.To complement the cup finals Rushcliffe Borough Council offered a variety of free entertainment including a girls under 9’s festival, football inflatables, football freestylers, face painting, other family activities and the official opening of the all new Gresham Sports Park.

Cllr Eddie Fearon, cabinet member for leisure at Rushcliffe Borough Council, said: "We’re were proud to support three fabulous days of football in Rushcliffe. Our strapline says it all – great place, great lifestyle, great sport. This festival combines our passion for encouraging and developing great sport and our drive to help young people get involved in sport and excel."

The Victoria Trophy took place on Sunday 4 May, where 117 teams participated making it the UKs largest women's and girls' one day five-a-side football tournament.

The Nottingham Festival of Women's Football was provided in partnership with Nottingham City Council, the East Midlands Development Agency, Notts FA, Notts County, Nottingham Forest, The FA Women's Cup sponsored by E.ON, Rushcliffe Borough Council, the Football Foundation and Experience Nottinghamshire.