Dear Bollington,
As you may be aware, we’ve been busy behind the scenes planning the next Bollington Festival. We’ve already put a lot of thought and time into making this next Festival a success. The website is up and running, our social media pages are buzzing and we have booked many exciting acts.
Notwithstanding these preparations, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Festival until May 2026.
From the start of our journey as a Committee, our primary goal has always been to honour the original objective of our Founder, Dr John Coope, in bringing the community together, particularly as 2024 will mark the 60th Anniversary of the Bollington Festival. We have wanted to bring you music, science, current affairs, dancing, sport, singing and of course, the Big Top!
Pandemic pressures
What we haven’t been prepared for is the ripple effect of the pandemic still being felt by local businesses alongside the financial and economic pressures that we’re all facing in our every day lives.
As a Committee, in these challenging times, we are finding it particularly difficult to raise the funds we need to run the Festival to the highest standard. Whilst we do have some money in the bank, we are well short of the (roughly) £200,000 (yes, £200,000!) required to run the Festival with the Big Top.
The show must go on…. just not as soon as we thought
So, here’s what we’re going to do: we will push back the Bollington Festival. This will give us more time to fundraise and deliver the Festival we all know and love: the Big Top, the big acts and of course the big beer tent! Since the 1960s, the time between Festivals has always fluctuated and we very much hope you will understand our reasons for this postponement.
Good news!
The good news is, between now and May 2026 we will be putting on some fantastic events. Watch out for the Race Night, the Art Trail, a Golf Day and several more very exciting fundraisers.
Also, in May 2024, whilst we will not be running a Festival as such, we will be hosting the JUBILEE JAMBOREE! A long weekend of community fun, to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Bollington Festival in style.
Whilst the postponement is a disappointment, we hope we can still count on your involvement and enthusiasm in the years ahead. We’re still looking for volunteers to help support the Committee with fundraising, marketing and planning. We’re also really keen to hear from local business owners who are interested in hosting or lending us floor space for any fundraising, Jamboree or 2026 Festival events.
We are sure you will appreciate these decisions have not been easily reached. We have run through numerous scenarios, including continuing with a “Frugal Festival” in 2024. However by postponing, we feel this is the best way forward to deliver the Festival the community deserves. We apologise for any disappointment and we truly hope we can count on your support.
Many thanks,
Bollington Festival Committee