Feature - Festivals bring world to your doorstep

Festivals have really taken off…If I look at the calendar, it's pretty much full, with things going on every month.

Catherine Dempsey
British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA.)

In August, the UK’s cultural focus shifts 400 miles north, from the English to the Scottish capital.

The Edinburgh Festival is the world's largest arts event.

In 2005 the main International Festival hosted over 180 events, and its giant offspring ‘The Fringe’, almost ten times as many.

Events twelve months of the year

Arts festivals are an established feature of the British summer and, while nothing gets close to Edinburgh in terms of size, their numbers have steadily risen.

And they don't end when the nights draw in.

“Festivals have really taken off,” says Catherine Dempsey of the British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA.)

“If I look at the calendar, it's pretty much full, with things going on every month.”

From free range eggs to free ranging verse

As the Edinburgh Festival finishes, organisers in Manchester are gearing up for events of their own.

Like many of the larger cities, it hosts numerous specialist festivals.

In October there no less than four, kicking off with In the City, a four-day showcase for emerging rock and dance music talent.

This is followed by poetry, food and drink, and comedy festivals.

A new giant

In 2007, Manchester will join the big league when it launches its inaugural international festival.

The biannual event, backed by the City Council, has a budget to rival Edinburgh's, but promises to be very different.

Based around ten to fifteen specially commissioned events, it’s expected to attract 150,000 people in its first year, rising to 270,000 once it’s established.

An international focus

“We are creating the world's first commissioning festival developing new work and new productions that will bring internationally renowned artists' new work to Manchester,” says director Alex Poots.

“It’s a celebration of Manchester’s abilities and cultural strength on the international stage.”

Is there a call for more culture

Brighton's experience suggests Manchester isn’t being overly ambitious.

While still dwarfed by Edinburgh, its 39-year-old May festival is currently England's biggest – and continues to grow.

In 2003, it launched a separate fringe programme, which this year listed 437 events.

The main festival has heightened its profile by commissioning new work from major international artists.

The local factor

“It always brings a great buzz to the place,” says American John Dunton, who moved his TV production company from London to Brighton last year.

“I love the cultural life in London, but the Brighton Festival is so much easier, because it’s all crammed into this relatively small city.”

Small is beautiful

A browse through BAFA's website shows that much of the action is taking place not just in cities but in small towns.

For example, September will see a literary festival in Folkestone, Kent, a classical music festival in Wells, Somerset and a general arts festival in Wirksworth, Derbyshire.

A high-class new comer

One of the newest small festivals is in the East Neuk area of Fife, in Scotland.

The inaugural event, which ran from 30 June to 3 July, saw renowned classical musicians from around Europe play in local parish churches and halls.

Artistic director, Svend Brown, believes its isolation from large cities was central to its success.

“What made it magic, was not only the fact that we had world-class talent like [pianist] Christian Zacharias, but the fact that he and others were playing in small venues in these beautiful towns and villages.”