The festivals of Britain

In the summer, our green and pleasant land is awash with outdoor events from high society "season" sojourns to free festivals for everyone. Natalie Moore examines our obsession for getting out and about

On London's South Bank, a transformation has been taking place. What is normally a peaceful riverside park will become a hot destination for Londoners wanting to party. On 2 June 2007 at Bernie Spain Gardens, an English Ceilidh will mark the start of the Coin Street Festival—a season of free entertainment throughout the summer. Visitors will get the chance to sample traditional English entertainment, food, drink, arts and crafts. And if they come back on subsequent weekends, there'll be a selection of some of the best music eastern Europe has to offer, a Turkish bazaar and an arts festival put on by the City's refugee community.

Also on the South Bank this summer, the Royal Festival Hall reopens with a programme of indoor and outdoor performances, many of them free, while the nearby National Theatre also has a full schedule of music, street performances and screenings.

The season of events comes to an end in September with the Mayor's Thames Festival—the biggest of its kind in London. Adrian Evans is director of both the Thames and Coin Street projects. He says: "It's been growing organically. Both the area the festivals occupy and their programme has expanded. While the first Thames Festival attracted 25,000 people 10 years ago, this year we expect at least 750,000."

This transformation in the capital will provide activities to keep locals and visitors outdoors all summer. And there will be similar scenes right across the country. In every major city and several smaller towns and villages, street parties and local festivals and events are becoming a way of life.

According to Evans, the British today are more used to spending time outside in the summer. He says: "We now want to enjoy ourselves in a continental way. Through going abroad, we've become familiar with sitting outside to eat and drink and we also want to do the same here."

Ticket sales to the country's biggest outdoor music event are evidence that the British won't let bad weather put them off from enjoying a long weekend. Images of campers wading through mud and stories of trench foot at Glastonbury in 2005 are hard to forget. Yet this year's party is set to be the biggest ever. Spokesman Crispin Aubrey says: "We're expecting 160,000 people, which is 20,000 more than the last event in 2005. The weather doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The site is much better prepared to cope with rain now, and people know they're coming to an outdoor event, so they're prepared."

While Glastonbury remains the most desired summer music festival, the rate at which concerts of this kind are growing is more evidence that we want to spend time outside. And this does not only apply to the young.

Nick Howden is editor of the events industry bible Access All Areas. He says: "You will find people of all ages at music festivals these days. What was once called 'youth culture' is now just culture. And with bands like the Rolling Stones continuing to perform, outdoor events are attracting a more mature audience."

Those not convinced by the thought of spending a weekend in a tent or even a luxury mobile home to enjoy an outdoor performance can find plenty of smaller, more exclusive music events. For example, acts including Jools Holland and Van Morrison will play at the Hampton Court Palace Festival this summer. Guests can enjoy a picnic in the grounds or a meal cooked by Gordon Ramsay, before sitting in comfort in the open courtyard of the palace for the show.

Festivals can change the face of an entire city and put it on the global culture map, as Edinburgh's Fringe Festival shows. This year Manchester has ambitions to do the same, with the inaugural Manchester International Festival. Director Alex Poots claims it will be the world's first international festival to put on only original, new work across the arts spectrum from photography and music to theatre and art. The lure is that many productions will premiere in the city, before touring to established centres such as Paris, New York and Berlin. Creating a buzz will be the launch event. Monkey: Journey to the West, is a circus opera spectacle featuring more than 40 Chinese circus acrobats, vocalists and performing martial artists with music composed by Damon Albarn and design and animation by Jamie Hewlett, the team behind "virtual pop band" Gorillaz.

Despite the fanfare, new festivals can have a tough time competing against the better known, traditional events that make up the summer season. Most of these revolve around sporting events, from horse racing to cricket.

Wimbledon has always been a popular day out. The tennis tournament has a special place in the nation's heart, and not only as a sporting competition. Spokesman Johnny Perkins says: "It's a big event in the British calendar. It's stylish and fashionable and you can spend as much or as little as you like on what is a very enjoyable day out."

The event was established in 1877 by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as a tennis competition with a garden party atmosphere. Today, it remains the only Grand Slam tournament to be played on grass.

"It's the combination of tradition and innovation which makes it so special," says Perkins. "There have been major improvements in the way the site works, such as creating a kind of amphitheatre using a big screen on a hill so more people can watch the action on centre court, to the variety of food and hospitality on offer."

Henley Royal Regatta is even more firmly established on the traditional calendar of summer events. The five-day series of boat races on the Thames first took place in 1839, and retains a lot of its original attractions. Spokesman Robert Treharne Jones says: "One of the great joys of the Henley experience is that, in a changing world, it hasn't changed. It retains the facade of an Edwardian garden party."

But Henley is a serious competition in the rowing season. "It's still a high-class regatta. There is a focus on creating the best competition for top athletes," says Treharne Jones. "The number of races has increased to cater for a sport that's still growing." And Henley Royal Regatta remains popular with those serious about rowing as well as the general public who come to enjoy a day by the river. Treharne Jones says: "Most people attending the regatta are from the rowing community, but some come just for the food, drink and atmosphere.
"The good thing about the event is that 90 per cent of the course follows a public footpath so anyone can come along and watch for free. Others opt for the hospitality or members' areas, where people are dressed up to the nines."

If sporting events involve a little too much exertion then a performance at Glyndebourne could be the solution. Now a highly anticipated part of "the season", Glyndebourne, near Lewes in East Sussex, was established in 1934 as a potentially world class opera venue. It has certainly met that objective and not only offers a high standard of performance, but also its own unique atmosphere.

Gus Christie, executive chairman of Glyndebourne says: "It is more than 70 years since my grandfather staged the first festival. Since then it has grown into both a cultural institution and a sizeable business." Between May and August each year, 150,000 people attend a performance, attracting opera lovers and the corporate world; the audience at many performances amounting to a Who's Who of British industry. 

"Glyndebourne is special, and not just because the experience is special. It is partly because we're a family firm with a dedicated staff," says Christie. "Other reasons include our location, which is away from the mainstream cultural citadels; our independent funding; and our unique relationship with our audience."

From Glyndebourne to Glastonbury, there is something in the British summer season to suit everyone's tastes. And those with eclectic tastes determined to make the most of the sunshine could trot along to a different event every weekend from June to September—but remember to take that brolly with you, just in case.

The 2007 Season

June

Until 26th Aug
Glyndebourne—This opera season has been running every summer for more than 70 years.

Until 5th Sep
Open Air Theatre—A variety of performances in the outdoor theatre in London's Regent's Park starts with Macbeth.

2nd
Derby Day—A big event for the racing community.

Until 18th Sep
London's South Bank—Free music, dance and entertainment throughout the summer, including the Coin Street Festival of cultural events.

5th-23rd
Hampton Court Festival—Concerts for grown ups held in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.

8th-10th
Isle of Wight Festival—With bands from Snow Patrol to the Rolling Stones, this events attracts fans of all ages.

11th-17th
The Stella Artois Championships—A first look at the contenders for Wimbledon.

19th-23rd
Royal Ascot—One of the most prestigious horse-racing events of the year and one that attracts a fashionable crowd.

19th-23rd
Boodles—Luxury tennis event.

22nd-24th
Glastonbury—Britain's biggest music festival.

28th-15th July
Manchester International Festival
A new event, for new work.

July

3rd-8th
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show—A regular RHS-organised flower fest which has become the world's largest.

4th-8th
Henley Royal Regatta—A quintessentially English week of rowing and boat races on the River Thames.

6th-8th
British Grand Prix—See Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson all on the starting grid.

13th-8th Sep
The Proms—The BBC's classical music season at the Royal Albert Hall in London and on tour at open-air venues around the UK.

19th
Test Match Cricket—England play India in the first test of the series at Lords.

19th-22nd
The Open—The oldest golf championship in the world takes place at Carnoustie in Scotland.

27th-29th
WOMAD—The World of Music Arts and Dance Festival features acts from around the globe at a new location in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

August

3rd-5th
The Big Chill—A more laid back affair than other big summer festivals with many acts off the pop radar.

4th-11th
Cowes Week—An international sailing regatta dating back to 1826 when just seven yachts took part. Today it's nearer a thousand.

5th-27th
Edinburgh Festival Fringe—The world's biggest arts festival with 28,000 dance, comedy and theatre shows, a third of which are premieres.

10th-2nd Sep
Edinburgh International Festival—The grown up version of the Fringe with events at 10 venues.

24th-27th
Faenol Festival—Now in its eighth year, these concerts in North Wales range from pop to classical and opera. Acts include Bryn Terfel and Connie Fisher.

24th-26th
Reading/Leeds Festivals—The two events share a line-up, which includes the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

September

8th September
BBC Last night of the Proms—Broadcast live to parks in Glasgow, Carrickfergus, Tees Valley, Swansea and London.

15th-16th
The Mayor's Thames Festival—London's biggest festival, with entertainment and music for the whole family.