News

Festival of Chichester patron Dame Patricia Routledge gave a stirring and inspiring speech to launch the 2024 summer programme. The 2024 brochure and line-up were unveiled at a special celebration at the Novium museum in Chichester which is the festival’s...

This summer a huge range of events will come together under the Festival of Chichester banner, embracing another rich and varied five weeks of arts and community fun. This year’s festival takes place from Saturday 15 June to Sunday 21...

Mark is the coordinator of the Festival of Chichester. Phil Hewitt, Festival Chairman and Group Arts Editor for Sussexworld, is in conversation with him about some of the treats in store. Read about the highlights of this year’s festival.

Chichester estate agent Kenton Budd is the principal sponsor for this year’s Festival of Chichester. Phil Hewitt, Festival Chairman and Group Arts Editor for Sussexworld, is in conversation with him about what the festival means to him. “Being part of...

Whether or not you are taking part in this year’s festival, we are writing to update you on this year’s progress and to confirm some dates. Event registrations Thank you to 2024 event organisers for sending in your event details....

Many of you joined us on November 15th to hear about our plans for the 2024 Festival of Chichester and to give us feedback on past experience and suggestions for improvements. However, we are aware that by no means everyone...

The entry window for Festival of Chichester 2024 is now open for events that fall within the festival window, i.e. Saturday 15 June to Sunday 21 July. We invite you to prepare your application(s) and to submit entries before Thursday 1...

Please visit our gallery page for a selection of images that we’ve been sent from 2021 to 2023. As you can see, there’s a filter enabling any photographer’s name to be credited. There’s also a free search box. All in...

We trust that you are looking forward to the 2024 Festival of Chichester, which will run between Saturday 15 June and Sunday 21 July. We’re sure that it will be a lively, eclectic programme of arts events.  Our autumn meeting...

Completion of a month-long programme of nearly a hundred events For much of June and early July 2023, the Festival of Chichester has once again brought nearly 100 events to the city, from classical concerts to theatre to a whole...

The 2023 Festival of Chichester got underway on 10 June under beautiful skies with a host of free entertainment on the Cathedral Green. View a gallery of photos on SussexWorld. Watch our video.

The 2023 Festival of Chichester opens on Saturday, June 10 with its traditional afternoon of fun on the Cathedral Green. All are welcome to join the Festival of Chichester committee and a host of performers between 2pm and 4.30pm for...

With dozens of independently organised events spread over a period of a month, the 2023 Festival of Chichester starts on Saturday 10 June. All are welcome to join us between 2pm and 4pm on Cathedral Green, (PO19 1PX, close to...

The curtain goes up today on a fabulous programme for this year’s Festival of Chichester, running from Saturday, June 10 to Sunday, July 9. Festival chairman Phil Hewitt said: “Once again we are offering a fantastic four weeks of fun...

Visit this page on SussexWorld to hear Festival Chairman Phil Hewitt and Festival Coordinator Mark Elliott in conversation. News item: The Festival of Chichester 2023 box office is now open

We are looking forward to an exciting festival in 2023. It will run from Saturday 10 June to Sunday 9 July. The entry window for this year’s Festival of Chichester is now open. We invite you to submit your entries...

Click here to view the highlights of 2022.

Festival chairman Phil Hewitt said: “Dame Patricia Routledge has been a wonderful patron to us for many years, unstinting in her support, but we thought we deserved a president as well! Kate and her husband Greg have been central to...

We are looking forward to the 2023 Festival of Chichester, which will run between 10 June and 9 July, and are hoping to be able to return to a lively, eclectic programme of arts events. Our autumn meeting has always...

As previously reported, Barry Smith has stepped down after ten years as coordinator of the Festival of Chichester. The voluntary role will be taken on for next year by newcomer Mark Elliott, a Sussex-born travel writer and former tour guide....

The Festival of Chichester committee has started planning for the 2023 festival – without co-ordinator Barry Smith who has stepped down after playing a crucial role in the festival’s first ten years. Read more.

A month-long programme of a hundred Festival of Chichester events came to a triumphant conclusion on the final Saturday with a concert at a favourite festival venue, St Paul’s Church. The local Chichester Symphony Orchestra thrilled with a rendition of...

The Festival has been featured in the new ‘The Art of Chichester’ exhibition and book. The exhibition is at The Novium Museum and runs from Saturday, 25 June until 25 February 2023. An accompanying book written by exhibition curator David...

The 2022 Festival of Chichester is now in full flow with a scintillating mix of events offering audiences the chance to immerse themselves in fun, culture and entertainment. The second half of the festival brings even more delights. Still to...

Yesterday the 2022 Festival of Chichester got off to a flying start! A packed Cathedral Green saw performances from Tesoro, The Sleepy Lagoon Orchestra, the Bernardi Music Group and Olivia Stevens & Co. View the video. Kate Mosse, author, the...

On Friday 3 June Chichester Cathedral and Chichester BID are organising a free community get-together with face-painting, crafts and live entertainment, taking place on the Cathedral Green (12 – 3 pm).  Members of our organising team and a selection of...

The fantastic 2022 Festival of Chichester is all set to launch on Saturday 11 June, 2 – 4 pm, on Cathedral Green, Chichester Cathedral, West Street, PO19 1PX. The Mayor of Chichester, Julian Joy, and Chichester’s very own famous novelist,...

We are looking for two people with energy and fresh ideas who can join our committee and help us in two important areas. Grant applications: We are looking for someone who will take on our search for funding. We have...

Last night there was a celebration of the opening of the Festival of Chichester’s tenth season at our box office in The Novium in Chichester. Watch a short video. The Festival of Chichester is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a...

Ticket sales for the 2022 Festival of Chichester go on sale at our box office facility, Chichester Box Office, based within the Novium at Tower Street, Chichester PO191QH.

We are responding to requests from some festival event organisers to offer a short extension to our event entry deadline of 31 January. Although this is not something we can manage every year, in the current circumstances as the country...

A season of events, performances, live entertainment and community projects will be held to mark a momentous year of cultural anniversaries in the Chichester district this year. Read more.

Festival 2022 This year’s festival, which runs from 11 June to 10 July, will be a very special occasion – our tenth anniversary. As part of our celebrations, we are linking up with the Chichester District’s CULTURE SPARK, joining forces...

The Festive Jazz Café, the Festival of Chichester’s special seasonal treat of words and music which is usually held in historic St John’s Chapel, is going online this year because of the current concerns about live events. The show is...

After our successful come-back festival last year, we are looking forward to a full-scale, really exciting festival in 2022 with both live and virtual events. The festival will run from Saturday 11 June to Sunday 10 July. The entry window...

Our annual Public Meeting will be held at 7pm in the Council Chamber, North Street, Chichester, PO19 1LQ on Tuesday, October 19 2021. At the meeting we will look back at the 2021 Festival and ahead to 2022 which remarkably...

For 2022, we are looking forward to being a leading part of the Season of Culture.

As the country emerged from the pandemic, the Festival of Chichester returned with a bang. A month-long programme of exciting events - live, virtual and outdoors - ran from 12th June to 11th July.

Week 4 (4 to 11 July) What a time we’ve had, with a scintillating mix of outdoor, live and virtual events, offering audiences the chance to immerse themselves in fun, culture and entertainment. We’ve had some brilliant events including sell-out...

Week 3 (28 June to 3 July)Week 4 – click here The 2021 Festival of Chichester is now in full flow with a scintillating mix of outdoor, live and virtual events, which offer audiences the chance to immerse themselves in...

To celebrate the launch of this year’s Festival of Chichester, many city centre businesses took part in a special window display competition, which was judged on Friday 11 June by stage and screen actress Paula Tinker. Watch Paula talk about...

Week 2 (21 to 27 June) The 2021 Festival of Chichester is now underway with a scintillating mix of outdoor, live and virtual events, which offer audiences the chance to immerse themselves in fun, culture and entertainment. We have had...

Festival of Chichester patron Dame Patricia Routledge has wished the venture well as the Festival launches into its ninth edition this weekend. Chichester resident and long-term supporter of the arts across the community, Dame Patricia said: “Congratulations on the return...

Week 1 (14 to 21 June) The waiting is finally over as the 2021 Festival of Chichester launches with a bang! In a scintillating mix of outdoor, live and virtual events, the festival offers audiences the chance to immerse themselves...

Paula Tinker, stage and screen actress who has appeared in several Chichester Festival Theatre productions, has kindly agreed to be the judge for this year’s Festival Shop Window Competition. Judging takes place on Friday 11 June at 11am. Paula’s stage...

The Festival is delighted to celebrate the joy of words, the power to inspire, those leaps of the imagination taking us to new and exciting places. Whether you like settling down for the curtain to rise on a good drama...

We all love a good tune…. some of us can’t resist the sound of soaring classical strings, others go for a jazzy riff or a blues beat…. whatever your tastes, there’s a fantastic selection to choose from at this year’s...

A fantastic range of events will go sale on Saturday 8 May as the Festival of Chichester opens its box office for business. Dame Penelope Keith, Kate Mosse and Loyd Grossman, the Castalian Quartet, pianist Young-Choon Park, guitarists Linda Kelsall-Barnett...

As the country bounces back from pandemic restrictions, the Festival of Chichester returns with a bang!  The Festival is looking to join forces with local businesses to promote the city with a colourful Shop Window Competition where businesses can showcase their wares...

This year’s Festival of Chichester has received a perfectly timed boost in the shape of a £2,500 discretionary grant from Chichester City Council. The money, agreed by the City Council’s community affairs committee, will be used for publicity for this...

Some good news at last! As promised, the entry window for this year’s Festival of Chichester is now open. We invite event organisers to submit their entries. We are looking forward to the 2021 Festival of Chichester, which will run...

The Festival of Chichester is planning confidently for the future with a major IT investment – thanks to generous grant support from Chichester District Council. CDC is giving the festival a grant of £1,600 towards the cost of a new...

Please come back to this website between 1 March and 30 April to submit your application for entry. There will be a link to access information and an online entry form. We are still looking forward to the 2021 Festival...

Each December, the Festival of Chichester puts on an exciting evening of jazz and readings to celebrate the Christmas season and to raise much-needed funds to kickstart next summer’s festival. This year, it is going virtual. You can enjoy online...

Organisers of the Festival of Chichester are setting the ball rolling for next year with their annual public meeting. In extraordinary times, the festival committee will be switching to Zoom as they start to think about 2021. Festival chairman Phil...

We are looking forward to the 2021 Festival of Chichester, which will run between 12 June and 11 July, and are hoping to be able to return to a lively, eclectic programme of arts events. It was such a disappointment to...

The Chichester Singers offered We’ll Meet Again to bring the 2020 Virtual Festival of Chichester to a memorable conclusion. The real-life festival was forced off the calendar back in March as lockdown took hold. But the festival organisers refused to...

Here’s how to access the festival events in two easy steps: 1. Go to our virtual festival page.2. Click on the event you want to attend. There will be a new event available to stream every day from 7pm. (The exceptions...

The Festival of Chichester is set to go online this summer with a Virtual Festival to replace live events because of the restrictions imposed by the virus pandemic. The idea came about through some regular performers contacting us to enquire...

Chichester Cathedral Chancellor Dan Inman joined the Festival of Chichester committee – for a festival which was forced off the calendar, along with countless other arts, sporting and community events when the coronavirus crisis hit. The Festival of Chichester quickly...