A major theme of this issue is festivals (pp 57); timely when you consider that a framework for the Cultural Olympiad has just been announced (p1), including plans for a UK-wide Cultural Festival to take place over four years. Whilst we can assume that this will consist of a series of broadly related events, spread out over the calendar, four years still seems an exhausting time span. Veterans of Glastonbury might look enviously at such a proposal  it may rain for four days in a row, but its unlikely to rain continuously for four years  but other than this, what are the advantages of such a protracted programme of events? Can this festival honestly sustain the national interest over such an extended period? And who exactly will it be aimed at?
Presumably therell be something for everyone, but this isnt the easiest of messages to convey, and it will be a major challenge for anyone charged with the festivals branding or marketing. Compare this to what Stewart Collins has to say about the Henley Festival (p6). Now in its 25th year, Henley is well organised, clearly themed, well branded, financially viable, and knows exactly who its audience is. None of this was thrown together in a year, but is the result of experience, planning and foresight. The projected start date for the Cultural Festival is Summer 2008  this time next year, to you and me  which sets alarm bells ringing straight away. At the risk of sounding cynical, and at entirely the other end of the scale, its worth pointing out that our local village family festival still requires an organisational lead time of 15 months. On a related note, Shivaji Shiva (p7) points out that many successful festivals, such as Glastonbury and Hay, grew out of the grass-roots dedication of a few individuals, whose passion for their projects captured the imaginations of others along the way. Is it really going to be possible, or for that matter desirable, to impose Olympian ambitions from the top down? And at the end of 2012, when the Olympic bandwagon has rolled on, and the four years of the Cultural Olympiad and its Festival are done, will any of it survive, like Henley, for a further 25 years, and should the organisers of the London Olympics really care?

Nick Jordan
Editor

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