By Marina Shestakova
Cheltenham Festivals has always been a gem in the community, it’s aim being to always ‘bring joy’, ‘spark curiosity’ and ‘inspire change’. With annual festivals including Jazz, Science, Music and Literature, there’s plenty of diverse activities to involve all the family.
But Cheltenham Festivals would not have been able to become as big if it wasn’t for the sponsors, charities and grants that support them. Just this year, they have been successful to receive funding from Arts Council England, remaining a part of the National Portfolio Organisation, who protect and develop national art and culture in the country. This is great news for the community in Cheltenham – ticket prices continue being free for all for at least another three years.
Ali Mawle, co-CEO of Cheltenham Festivals, gives thanks to the council, saying, “the competition for grants was exceptionally high so this is a testament to the quality and impact of our work. We will continue working in partnership to create a world where everyone can explore and create culture through our Festivals and year-round learning and participation and talent development programmes.”
The Festivals, among other arts organisations in Cheltenham such as Everyman Theatre, Gloucestershire Libraries, Create Gloucestershire and more, are due to receive £446 million from Arts Council England, which they plan to split into £250,000 a year for the three year contract.
Literature Festival has been lucky enough to bring in well-known guests like Malorie Blackman, Stephen King, Graham Norton, Edward Enninful, Victoria Moore, Nick Robinson, Martin Kemp, Michael Mopurgo, Cressida Cowell and many more. Inviting famous authors and musicians really creates a conversation in the community as well as bringing over 200,000 people from all over the country into Cheltenham.
Councillor Andy Lewis, cabinet member for culture and leisure for Gloucester City Council is greatful for “being a National Portfolio Organisation. It will help the Guildhall go from strength to strength, and bring more live music, performance, dance and film to the city. Audiences will be better served by experiencing high-quality work and artists will have a platform from which to present new work. This is fantastic news for the city.”
