The UK’s first virtual Wellbeing Festival is announced by Cheltenham based event organisers

The Live Life Well Virtual Weekender, being organised by the local team who hosted the first Cheltenham Wellbeing Festival last year, will run from the 8^th – 10^th May 2020. 
 

The wellbeing community has come together to launch the ‘Live Life Well Weekender’ - the UK’s first ever virtual wellbeing festival online, in response to COVID-19 and the current national lockdown, to help people better cope in these extraordinary times.

With some 2.6 billion[i] people in lockdown across the world, there are a host of issues people are struggling with every day that are impacting our emotional and mental wellbeing. From the worry and stress of an uncertain future, anxiety over money concerns and working from home, home-schooling and parenting, physical inactivity, nutrition, to the effects of a lack of social contact and loneliness for many, there are many issues facing us all every day that have a potential detrimental effect on our physical and mental health.

Already, it has been reported that there are over 25% more calls being made to The Domestic Abuse Helpline[ii]. Calls to mental health lines have seen a surge, OCD-UK reporting call volumes have increased by over 35% since the outbreak, while Anxiety UK have more than doubled their helpline operating hours from 40 to 82.5 per week, and reported a huge increase in calls of 364% last week[iii], with experts fearing that there could be over ‘150,000 avoidable deaths’ that occur during the pandemic through depression, domestic violence and suicides[iv].

With that in mind, this three-day festival running from the 8^th – 10^th May 2020, has been curated to provide a variety of talks, workshops and resources, that will offer support, spark discussions and provide the practical tools that people so desperately need, to help protect their own and their families mental health and mitigate the impact the current lockdown has long-term.  

The festival will explore a variety of topics from; How to protect and support your mental health, manage stress and anxiety, cope with low mood, depression, and insomnia, manage relationships and counter loneliness. There will be talks on managing working from home, unemployment and help with your finances, as well as how to safeguard your children’s future wellbeing and mental health, support with home-schooling and studying, whilst helping you to take care of yourself and your family emotionally and physically.

Through the festival, experts and industry leaders will come together to provide a vital source of credible information, advice, discussion and expert opinion, to help the public continue to cope now, help to reduce the negative impacts on us and our families for the future, and better prepare ourselves and our families for our new norm as we return to life after lockdown, whilst building a positive and supportive community.

Our line-up of speakers is building and we are thrilled to be able to announce that we will be working with; mental health campaigner and activist Natasha Devon, author of Anxious Man, Josh Roberts, award-winning performer, writer and mental health campaigner Juliette Barton, Happiness expert Steph Peltier, Parenting Mental health campaigner Suzanne Alderson,  food blogger and recipe creator Amy Lanzer of Nourishing With Amy,  chef and M&S Food ambassador Chris Baber, and The Gut Stuff girls duo Lisa and Alana,  hypnotherapist and grief and loss coach Dipti Tait, among many others to be announced.

Co-founder of the Live Life Weekender Alexandra Davison said of the festival; “These are particularly stressful and uncertain times for our whole nation and indeed the world. Now, more than ever, people need support. As we continue to live in lockdown, uncertain of our futures, every day the stresses and struggles of our own personal situations increase.

“Whilst we cannot eradicate these issues for people, we can help them explore their concerns and worries now, by providing inspirational, informative and educational discussions on the issues that matter to them most, whilst also providing the practical tools to help people better cope now, and in the future, to help try and limit the impact on individuals, families and our society.” added Alexandra.

“It is with thanks to the generosity and goodwill of our speakers and partners that we are able to host this virtual festival, and we hope to be able to provide a packed schedule of incredible content, whilst creating a community that can support one another and help positively impact people’s current and future wellbeing.”

The Live Life Well Weekender is a not-for-profit event and will be accessible to all with FREE tickets for all frontline and key workers, FREE access for school, university and college students, as well as FREE tickets for those in need who are on low incomes or unemployed as a result of the pandemic.  A nominal fee of £10 per household for General Admission provides access to the whole three-days of content, of which all profits received will go charity to support the NHS CHARITIES NATIONAL COVID 19 APPEAL.

This fantastic three-day ‘Live Life Well Weekender’ will take place from the 8^th – 10^th May, where you will be inspired, lift your spirits and feel more informed and supported by an incredible wellbeing community.

Register for your tickets today via the website www.livelifewell.uk.

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Get involved

The organisers are inviting individuals, companies and organisations in the wellbeing industry to get in touch to explore how they can get involved. Email [email protected]

Life in isolation

As part of this festival and to celebrate national spirit,  the public have the opportunity to get involved and share their stories and experiences of living life in lockdown.

The highs, the lows, the stresses and struggles, the humour to the ridiculous, and how has it affected you, your family, and your life in words and pictures. Tell Alex and her team in 500 words, through a poem, a video, an illustration, doodle or piece of art, and show how COVID-19 has affected you, your family, and your life.  The best ones will be featured during the festival and beyond.

Log on to https://www.lifeinisolation.com/ to upload your experiences.

Get in touch 

For any other information or to speak to one of the team, you can get in touch via the www.livelifewell.uk website any time and across the social media channels @cheltenhamwellbeingfestival  #livelifewell or email [email protected]