It certainly has to be agreed that Cheltenham is a town that has a lot to offer – spectacular regency architecture, great shopping facilities, beautiful parks and gardens and of course the Cheltenham Cricket Festival and the Cheltenham Racecourse!

While sport, particularly the Gold Cup, is key to putting Cheltenham on the map, the town is now just as famous for its impressive calendar of Arts Festivals which have firmly secured Cheltenham’s reputation as a cultural centre of international repute.
Indeed, the combined programme of Cheltenham Arts Festivals which includes a Jazz, Science, Music and Literature Festival attracts over 150,000 visitors every year from all over the globe and has resulted in the town being awarded the accolade of ‘World capital of Festivals’ by The Times.
Be it a classical music concert in the beautiful Pittville Pump Room, jazz in the atmospheric environment of our pubs or clubs, a debate involving a famous author or an interactive science exhibition at the Town Hall, Cheltenham has increasingly become a high spot in the international Festival calendar.

Although not the first Festival on the annual calendar, the Literature Festival is now quite firmly the largest, with over 64,000 tickets sold in 2002 alone. The Festival can also lay claim to being the largest pure Literature Festival in Europe and the longest-running Literature Festival in the world at the grand old age of 53.
With over 400 writers, poets, politicians and performers of national and international repute gracing the Cheltenham stage, the Festival has fast become a crucible for topical debate and discussion. Taking the form of a ten-day extravaganza including amongst other things talks, literary tours, workshops, a festival newspaper and a fantastic book tent with author signings.
Sell out events at the 2002 Festival included appearances from top names such as Doris Lessing, Fay Weldon, Judi Dench, Tony Benn, Michael Parkinson and Michael Palin. The programme for 2003 at the present still remains a closely guarded secret!
Owing to its continued success, for those who can’t wait a whole year between their fixes of the Literature Festival the organisers have, helpfully, now programmed a Spring Weekend in the month of April to fill the gap with a further selection of fascinating talks, discussions and performances to bring books to life.
Names to appear at this Festival we can confirm will include novelist Tom Sharpe, Booker Prize-winner Yann Martel, historian Margaret Macmillan and high-profile figures such as Pete McCarthy, Jane Lapotaire and Bernard Ingham.

The second largest Festival and the most established is the Cheltenham International Festival of Music & Fringe held in July which will be celebrating its 59th birthday this year.
This annual celebration brings the biggest names in classical music to Cheltenham’s Town Hall and Pittville Pump Room and over 25 further venues in and around the area.
Whether it’s a symphony concert in the majestic grandeur of the Town Hall, delicate chamber music in a Cotswold church, or free entertainment in Imperial Gardens the Music Festival offers it all.
This year’s Festival features the colourful orchestral music of Debussy, chamber works by Mozart and Haydn and a range of works by Handel – a composer who visited the town in 1751. Highlights include the City of London Sinfonia, Alfred Brendel, Katarina Karnéus and the Maggini and Ysaye Quartets. Plus a special guest performer whose details will be released later in the year and will be sure to wow the crowds.
The Festival Fringe also includes dance, music, theatre performances and children’s events, plus free street entertainment and fireworks to complete the Festival atmosphere.

Staying on the music theme another Festival set to be a sure fire success in 2003 is the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival. Ranking among the top British festivals of its kind, with a reputation for innovation and creativity since its inception in 1996 the Festival has brought some of the biggest names in jazz to the town, as well as providing a platform for some of the best new talent.
‘One of the biggest jazz events in the country’ according to the Daily Telegraph, the 2003 Festival is set to showcase a line-up including names as diverse as Chris Barber, Michael Brecker and the Esbjörn Svensson Trio as well as the Jerwood Rising Stars Series featuring the cream of young British jazz musicians. This is must-see stuff for all music lovers!

Last but not least to mention is the newest addition to Cheltenham Arts Festivals repertoire – The Cheltenham Festival of Science which only in its second year has already discovered a winning formula!
Taking audiences on a journey through time and space, with a packed programme full of talks, debates, workshops and interactive exhibitions, the Science Festival is truly a Festival for all the family.
Aiming to explore key issues facing science and society in a challenging and exciting environment, the 2003 Science Festival will welcome speakers such as brain specialist Susan Greenfield, acclaimed science writer and author of Nature via Nurture Matt Ridley, and Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK and Nobel Prize winner Paul Nurse.
For more information on any of the Cheltenham Arts Festivals please contact the Cheltenham Town Hall Box Office on 01242 227979 or phone the Brochure Request Line on 01242 237377. You can also visit the Festival website at www.cheltenhamfestivals.co.uk

7th Cheltenham Folk Festival: 6-9 February 2003
4th Cheltenham Festival of Literature Spring Weekend: 4-6 April 2003
8th Cheltenham International Jazz Festival: 1-5 May 2003
2nd Cheltenham Festival of Science: 4-8 June 2003
59th Cheltenham International Festival of Music & Fringe: 4-20July 2003
54th Cheltenham Festival of Literature: 10-19 October 2003