And that’s a wrap! A close to The Bath Festival 2022

It’s a wrap folks!

As we pack away the banners, fold away the chairs and shut down the microphones we say a fond farewell to whirlwind that was The Bath Festival 2022.

Our aim was, as always, to celebrate music and books in a beautiful city. Our visiting authors, speakers and musicians did us and our city proud. The nine-day programme of 140 plus events provided a huge variety and diversity of people and topics.

There was the intellectual rigour you’d expect from the historic Bath Festival – with talks on Mozart, modern art, Bach and eugenics to name but a few – and the internationally acclaimed classical musicianship the festival has always programmed. But there were also events that tackled things that matter to us all, such as family, grief, loss and a sense of home. We talked about fake news, about the legacy of colonialism, about history, the future of how we get our news and about democracy.

There were also talks from people who filled us with inspiration and admiration. Runner Nick Butter spoke modestly of achieving his world record of running a marathon in every country in the world, while charity campaigner Kris Hallenga shared her cancer journey with empathy which touched everyone in the room, while former rugby champion Steve Thompson won our hearts with his humour and modesty.

Our audiences gained so much. They laughed along with Marcus Brigstocke and his acerbic panel pulling apart the Sunday papers, with comedian Phil Wang poking gentle fun at the British psyche and with the five brilliant women who took to the stage to talk honestly about wobbly bits, the stresses of trying for a baby and shared experiences of family life. They got to go home with goodie bags filled with soon to be published books, from two proof parties and gained valuable writing insight at intimate creative workshops led by experts.

We’ve heard locals talking about how much they enjoy the festival on their doorstep, but we’ve also talked to visitors from other parts of the UK and the States about how they discovered the festival and how much they have appreciated it.

We also hear from our brilliant speakers how much they have relished the chance to get together face to face with other thinkers, writers and musicians, to share ideas, to go for a coffee or a drink or two.

We at the festival may be tired right now, but we are never ones to rest on our laurels. Please take the time to fill in our response survey to help us build bigger and better for 2023!