A city-wide reading initiative has been revived in Bristol as part of a £2m arts investment programme in the city. The Great Reading Adventure was initiated last year as part of the city’s failed bid to be named European Capital of Culture 2008.
As many as 200,000 people are thought to have read Treasure Island, or extracts from it, as part of the 2003 scheme. 2,000 free copies of this year’s novel, John Wyndham’s 1950s sci-fi classic, The Day of the Triffids (pictured), will be distributed, and events taking place over the next two months will include a science fiction festival at Watershed on February 21-22. Over the next four years Bristol will be delivering the key aims of its Capital of Culture bid through a series of events relating to sport in 2004, creativity and the city in 2005, Brunel in 2006 and diversity in 2007. Each reading project will link to these themes from 2005 onwards. The city has also launched a new public art strategy, including the Legible City initiative – a programme designed to clear the streets of unnecessary street furniture and signage.