This year’s festival was/has been our best ever.

[diamondcutter]

Newburg School had its annual international festival last Saturday. ... Everyone had a great time at the festival. Mr. Jones, the school principal, said, “All of our students did a wonderful job. This year’s festival was our best ever.”

Source: Let’s Go 6, OUP

I’d like to know if the last sentence can also use the present perfect like this:

This year’s festival has been our best ever.

 

[Rover_KE]

As it's only a few days ago, yes.

 

[5jj]

Newburg School had its annual international festival last Saturday. ... Everyone had a great time at the festival. Mr. Jones, the school principal, said, “All of our students did a wonderful job. This year’s festival was our best ever.”

This is one of those rare occasions when i don't agree with Rover. I think that the string of past-time references (I've put them in bold font) makes a present perfect in the last sentence very unlikely.