Lichfield Festival Review 2024

2024
Welcome
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
In the past 12 months, Lichfield Festival has
brought over 100 outstanding performances
and community events to our beautiful and
historic city, increasing access to the arts
and uniting hearts and minds in the universal
language of music.
Audiences have enjoyed theatre, comedy,
literature, dance and all genres of music
from world-class artists through the Autumn
Chamber Music Weekend, Christmas concerts,
Lichfield Literature and our 11-day multi-arts
Summer Festival.
To deliver joy and inspiration on this scale
would not be possible without you – our
amazing sponsors, donors, Friends and
volunteers. Your generosity and commitment
have been the wind beneath our wings.
Engagement with arts and culture, besides
feeding the soul and giving life a new
dimension, plays a vital role in fostering
emotional resilience and improving cognitive
ability.
We are therefore very proud to launch a new
initiative this September, providing instrumental
music lessons to over 100 local primary school
children.
Colin Walker, a fellow trustee, who has
worked in education for many years and
is spearheading the project says “I know
of nothing as transformative in a child’s
development as music, particularly learning
an instrument. I cannot stress enough the
tremendous difference we are making to these
young students’ lives in a tangible and positive
way.”
With your help, we look forward to another
year of excitement and innovation, breaking
down barriers, sparking curiosity and bringing
music, joy and laughter to all corners of the
community.
Helen Wiser
Lichfield Festival Chair
Highlights
BBC National
Orchestra of Wales
‘Young Artists’ &
‘Young Critics’ Series
You ‘Adopted an Instrument’ to
support live orchestral music
180 participated in the Midlands Choir of
The Year 2024
497 participated in ASPIRE! L&P programme
Jasdeep Singh Degun
Alison Weir (pictured), Peaky
Blinders & Nick Wallis at
Lichfield Literature Festival
90 volunteers 1,113 hours
Ballet Cymru
103 world-class
events
21 days
8 venues
Audience
numbers
+12%
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
What our audience thought
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
“A fabulous evening
of entertainment.
Fantastic atmosphere
in the Cathedral.
Musicians talented
and brilliant.”
“Great experience, well
organised and managed,
great volunteers - nice to
see different cultural acts
too for diversity.”
“Nice that this
family event
is still free to
attend.”
“I have loved and
supported the Festival
for many years. It is
a highlight in my
year.”
“The Festival
gives a very good
atmosphere to the
city.”
“I visited the Festival 5 times and was totally
blown away. I was particularly thrilled to see the
young people from The Friary School performing. I
felt that this was VERY exciting.”
“My non-verbal
42 year old son
was completely
engrossed with the
performance and
responded to the mood
of the music.”
96% rated the ‘Quality of Events’ as ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’
93% rated Lichfield Festival 8 or higher when asked if they would recommend it to a friend or family.
1 in 5 audience members were NEW visitors: with ticket
offers including ‘30% off for Under 30s’ and free tickets
for community groups attracting a more diverse audience.
“So lovely to see people
of all ages enjoying the
music together.”
LFF is a Friends’ organisation, bringing
together like-minded individuals with a passion
for the Arts. LFF membership, gift aid and
events have contributed an amazing £34,000
in 2024 hugely supporting Lichfield Festival’s
fundraising target.
422 LFF Members,
43 NEW members
joined in 2024…
“I saw something about priority booking which
led me to the LFF. We’re keen to support the
Festival which is a great asset to Lichfield...
these are world class performances, literally
on our doorstep, and the most expensive
seats in the Cathedral are now the cheapest at
Symphony Hall. I don’t think Lichfield realises
how lucky it is.” NEW LFF Member
Lichfield Festival Friends
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
LFF ‘Adopt an Instrument’
supporters enjoying a
champagne reception
at the BBC National Orchestra
of Wales concert.
LFF members receive an exclusive
invite to the opening event of the
Chamber Music Festival at Pegasus
Lichfield Bonds.
Gold, Silver and Bronze Membership all offer advance booking, special events and social
opportunities, bringing members even closer to Lichfield Festival, its programme and performers.
To receive advance booking for your favourite artist(s), become a member here:
https://lichfieldfestivalfriends.org.uk/lichfield-festival-friends/
ASPIRE! Learning & Participation
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
Lichfield Festival’s inclusive, imaginative and impactful programme, ASPIRE!, engages schools
and community groups, providing everyone with the opportunity to explore the Creative Arts.
The programme has enhanced over 6,500 lives and featured ‘Lichfield Dances’ in 2022, ‘A
Grimethorpe Adventure’ in 2023 and in 2024, taking inspiration from Vivaldi, ‘The Four Seasons’.
What we did
Award-winning writer and performer Katie
Arnstein, facilitated 10 drama workshops
at The Friary School (Lichfield), with
13 students writing and sharing their
monologues ‘The Friary Seasons’ at The
Hub, St. Mary’s.
377 children from St Mary’s Catholic
Primary School (Cannock), Jerome Primary
School (Norton Canes) and The John
Bamford Primary School (Rugeley) created
themed artwork and music and, with the
help of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire,
listened to a performance of their new
seasons at Lichfield Cathedral.
Why
• Increase opportunity - 2 of the 3 primary
schools have a higher than ave. % of
children on Free Schools Meals and a
lower than ave. % meeting the expected
standard in Reading, Writing & Maths.
• Improve educational attainment –
students who participate from lowincome families are 3 times more likely
to get a degree.
• Improve health and wellbeing - strong
correlation between playing music,
happiness, and creativity, with 4 in 10
who participate more likely to report
good health.
Watch the schools
participate YouTube
ASPIRE! Learning & Participation
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
What they said
“Music is really
powerful because
you can express
your emotions”
Pupil, St. Mary’s
Catholic Primary
School
“They were thrilled to see their
pictures on the screen. You
could see the buzz in their faces.
One child even went home and
said, “I want to learn and play
the cello too!”
“There’s been a lot of creative Teacher, Jerome Primary School
thinking, normally you just read
off a script, but with this you
create your own.”
Pupil, The Friary School “I felt nervous to start with but after
the rehearsals I was more confident.
I was proud of myself because I
realised it pushed me out of my
comfort zone.”
Pupil, The Friary School
Confidence in
writing skills
Confidence in
performance
skills
Beginning of project End of project
The Friary School - Student Feedback
(1 = not at all, 5 = very)
2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Watch the schools
participate YouTube
“The project has shown the
power of music to tell stories.”
Emily Summers, Project Facilitator
(Bostin’ Creative)
Our Partners
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
Every £1 arts & culture turnover delivers £2.24 to the wider economy turnover*. Lichfield
Festival positively impacts the local business community and all our of corporate partners. In
fact, the Festival contributes to an estimated £9.2m annual visitor spend at events and festivals
every year in the City!**
* Contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy, Report for ACE, May 2020.
** Economic Impact of Events and Festivals in Lichfield City. LDC, 21st January 2020.
“McArthurGlen West Midlands is thrilled to partner with Lichfield
Festival, aligning perfectly with our commitment to offer exciting, vibrant
experiences for our guests. The Festival brings a unique energy to the
region, and we’re proud to be part of such a dynamic collaboration that
benefits both local communities and our shoppers.”
McArthurGlen West Midlands
“London Northwestern Railway & West Midlands Railway were proud
sponsors of Lichfield Festival in 2024. This sponsorship enabled us to
share the benefits of travelling by train and booking directly using our
Apps, avoiding additional booking fees from third party retailers. With
festival visitors and a range of artists travelling from around the UK, train
travel was positioned as the sustainable way to visit the festival. This 11-
day, multi arts summer event is packed full of truly engaging events and it
was a pleasure to work closely with the organising team.”
Laura Donnelly, Head of Marketing & Sales, West Midlands Trains
“Lichfield is a vibrant City, with so much to offer, part of what gives it its
character and appeal is Lichfield Festival. Having launched our second
community Lichfield Bonds this spring, we were thrilled to partner with
the Festival in 2024 to support the incredible programme of events in July.
Lichfield Festival upholds many of the values we share here at Pegasus
Homes - inclusion, accessibility and ensuring those enjoying life over 60
are able to connect and engage with the arts within their local community.
We look forward to an ongoing partnership for many years to come.”
Pegasus Homes
McArthurGlen West Midlands Pegasus Homes West Midlands Railway
Marketing
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
In 2024 Lichfield Festival implemented its biggest Through-the-Line marketing campaign. As
well as extensive media coverage, with estimated 3m reach, the Festival was on local buses,
train stations, in The Three Spires and McArthurGlen West Midlands shopping centres, along with
print, Google and social media advertising.
65K active users
Festival website, +65%
273K pages viewed Festival
website, +158%
2x higher ave. time
on Festival website
than industry average
14K social media followers, +7.2%
/ + 948
4 – 5x higher
engagement rate on
Facebook
than industry standard
Figures from Google Analytics, 17 Jul 23 – 24.
Industry standard engagement rates for Media & Entertainment, June 2024. Data from Hootsuite: https://blog.hootsuite.com/average-engagement-rate/
How to support us
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
Lichfield Festival is a registered charity, and with less than half our income coming from ticket
revenue, your support is vital to our success.
Every ticket purchased, every donation made, however large or small, every new Lichfield
Festival Friend membership, makes a difference. Your support will help bring the very best
artists to Lichfield Festival and will ensure future generations continue to be inspired by the Arts.
Donate
Buy a ticket for Lichfield Festival
https://lichfieldfestival.org/festivals/
Donate online at
https://lichfieldfestival.org/
Become a member of Lichfield Festival Friends
https://lichfieldfestivalfriends.org.uk/lichfield-festival-friends/
Join us in 2025
MAR
27-30
JUL
8-20
OCT
2-5
DEC
5
Literature Summer Chamber
Music
Christmas
THANK YOU
FESTIVAL IMPACT REPORT
Everything we have achieved in 2024, running 103 world-class events, over 21 days, in 8
venues, is down to you, our sponsors, donors, Friends and volunteers.
A huge thank you from Lichfield Festival board.
Donors & Trusts
Ray & Jenny Mansell
Helen & Colin Ablitt, Arts Council England, the Barnard Family, Marian & Tony Bateman,
Lorna Boxall, Valerie & Chris Cartwright, David & Hazel Cliffe, Close Friends,
Margaret Cooper Ramsell, Enterprise Arts Trust, in memory of Lyonel Evans, Ted Green,
Lichfield Conduit Lands Trust, Colin Line Fund, Wendy & Paddy Martin, John Maxwell-Jones,
Shirley & Richard Newby, Nigel O’Mara, Peter Parsons, Barbara & David Porter, Nick Sedgwick &
Gillian Love, Jill Sutton, Mike & Adrienne Swallow, Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust, Jerry Sykes,
Helen & Vic Wiser and our Adopt an Instrument supporters.
And Volunteers
Barrie Atchison, Patricia Bateman, Julia Beech, Cliff Bennett, Angela Bickley, Jane Booker,
Jill Brittle, Bridget Clewly, Tracey Coles, Mia Coss, Ishbel Curr, Sarah Dale, Iva Davies,
Pauline Davies, Trevor Davies, Brian Denny, Karen Fellows, Stewart Finkle, Christine Gentle,
Ted Green, Ian Groves, Jan Groves, Neil Guest, Erica Harris, Michael Hawkes, Alan Hooper,
Elaine Hooper, Ann Hughes, Simon Kerr, Lyn Kightley, Penny Lane, Linda Lowe, Jim McDonald,
Joe Moody, Pam Moore, Paul Nicholson, Sophie Nock, Jackie Owen, Jayne Owen, David Price,
Ruth Revill, John Rooker, Pauline Rooker, John Rushton, Christine Sadler, Kate Sadler,
Ann Shilton, Martha Skerry, Janet Smith, Wayne Smith, Vanda Stanley, Jane Taylor, Robin Taylor,
Ann Waller, Lynne Walsh, Alan White, Andrew White, Carolynn White, Jack White, Linda Williams.
We are committed to environmental responsibility and have therefore produced this document as a digital report.
FURTHER INFORMATION
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Telephone: 01543 306270
Email: [email protected]
FUNDRAISING & PARTNERSHIP ENQUIRIES
Email: [email protected]
LICHFIELD FESTIVAL FRIENDS
Email: [email protected]
www.lichfieldfestival.org
Registered Charity Number: 512201
Images courtesy of Tyler Whiting and Stephanie Geary Photography.