By Rob Coles: Bath Festival started in the traditional manner on the evening of Friday 12th May with the Party in the City. With more than one hundred and twenty performances it may well have been the largest such event. Many genres of music were featured in over thirty venues, including Restaurants and Bars, open spaces, Museums, Art Gallery and churches. Last year it was said to have attracted 20,000 people and there was no reason to believe this year there were any less. The only problem was getting around to the gigs. Perhaps next year we could have the free use of electric scooters. (Photos by Rob Coles.)
By Harry Mottram: The Bath Festival 2023 focused on the theme Opening Up for its internationally renowned annual celebration of music and books from 12 – 21 May. Organisers said it had been highly successful.
Bath was overflowing with people sharing their stories, experiences and wisdom with events like the Poetry Open Mic, exclusive Proof Parties, and a vibrant music scene. The Bath Festival Orchestra, was in residency during the opening weekend while the festival featured guided walks, events in historic building, gatherings in intimate settings and the festival hub at the Guildhall featuring Mr B’s Emporium pop-up bookshop and a café and bar.
Founded in 1948, Bath Festivals is a charity that inspires and connects different people and communities through music and book festivals and a year-round programme of outreach and creative learning projects. All our work is designed to maximise inclusion and accessibility, ignite ideas, thoughts and conversations and promote and celebrate the positive impact that music, literature, and performance have on people’s lives.
We are responsible for The Bath Festival in the summer and Bath Children’s Literature Festival in the autumn, which bring the city alive with a celebration of the arts. Our year-round creative learning programme of hands-on music and literature projects gives children and young people opportunities to gain real-world experience, building their inner confidence and improving communication skills through the arts.
Building on our 75 year heritage, we are turning Bath into one of the top 3 festival cities in the UK.