2nd February 2009
As Cheltenham Festivals enters its 65th anniversary year of the first festival, Music, JBP organised a celebratory reception at the House of Commons. The event was hosted by Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham, and formed part of JBP's stakeholder engagement programme for the Cheltenham Festivals.
Donna Renney, Chief Executive of Cheltenham Festivals, said:
‘The purpose of the event was to draw attention to the contribution made by Cheltenham Festivals to the cultural and educational life of our region in particular and, indeed, to that of the nation at large.’
The Reception was attended by almost 150 guests, including Professor Lord Winston, Kathy Sykes, Professor Ray Tallis and Councillor John Rawson. Zoe Rahman, pianist, entertained guests with a selection of contemporary jazz music.
Martin Horwood, MP for Cheltenham, said:
‘It was a delight and an honour to host the Cheltenham Festivals in Parliament. The event went so well that I would happily make it a regular occurrence. I think it’s part of my job to promote Cheltenham and that’s an easy job when you’re promoting the buzz, the fun, the genius of the four Festivals.
'I told everyone attending that yes, we often boasted the biggest and most popular names in classical music, jazz, science and literature from Eartha Kitt to Pam Ayres, from Richard Branson to Van Morrison, from Helen Mirren to the BBC Philharmonic, from Roger McGough to Courtney Pine. But the special festival moments are often those shared with names you didn’t know – the new Jerwood jazz stars, the young scientists of Famelab, the new composers and writers promoted by the Wellcome Trust.
'Without sponsorship, that precious side of the Festival programme would be impossible. We know that attracting sponsorship this year may be tougher than in previous years but the Festivals are raising their game in response and I’m determined to do all I can to help. I’m sure that bringing the Festivals to Parliament was just the start of a brilliant year.’
Cheltenham Festivals now stages four Festivals throughout the year Jazz, Science, Music and Literature with more than 150,000 tickets sold in 2008.
Donna concludes:
‘Our commitment to partnership with business is more important than ever. Our partnerships are successful because we know that our partners want to be participants in the dialogue we create with our audiences, and we enable them to do just that. We look forward in 2009 to renewing our relationships with existing partners and to welcoming new ones’.
