Cheltenham Literature Festival celebrates 75 years with reception at Downing Street

After 400 events with over 500 speakers across 10 days, The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival concluded its milestone 75^th anniversary with a reception hosted by Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary, at Downing Street, reaffirming the importance of literature and the arts in shaping our collective futures and inspiring the next generation of writers.

Images by Still Moving Media (left to right) Rick Astley, Brendan O'Hea and Judi Dench, Richard Ayoade.

Over 100,000 ticket holders headed to Montpellier Gardens from 4-13 October to reflect on the legacy of the world’s longest-running literature festival, whilst looking ahead to the future with emerging trends across politics, culture and lifestyle. The Festival also welcomed over 12,500 school children across the county across the week as part of its year-round learning and participation activity.

More than a quarter of the programme was free to see, with Festival-goers benefitting from the cross-section of culture on offer across the 10 days. From a Lit Crawl across the town’s eclectic bar, pub and venue scene to costume characters, musical performances, crafts, stories and more, there was ample opportunity to experience the joy and curiosity that can be sparked by culture.

170 tickets were also given away as part of the Festival’s Connections scheme, which provides free tickets to local people and families who may not otherwise be able to attend the Festival. The scheme is made possible through the generosity of Cheltenham Festivals’ Patrons and GCC's Thriving Communities Fund.

Literary Legends and Legacy

In conversation with Brendan O’Hea, Festival President and star of stage and screen, Judi Dench, emphasised the essential role the arts play in enabling and inspiring younger generations to create and explore culture: “The arts are very important, not just to me when I was a child, but to every child. People have been inspired by having stories read to them [...], the arts are so important to us all, especially to young people”. The Festival embodied this sentiment by welcoming more than 12,500 school children from Gloucestershire schools to get creative in workshops, meet their favourite authors and enjoy storytelling as part of the Literature for Schools programme.

A series of events were specially curated to commemorate cultural, societal and historical progressions since the Festival’s conception, spanning the literary legacy of George Orwell’s 1984 to exploring how women’s lives have changed over the past 75 years. Meanwhile, Festival-goers could delve into the most popular books over the last half century in Times Square inspired by The Sunday Times’ bestsellers list.

Images by Still Moving Media (left to right) Jordan Stephens, Ferne Cotton, children decorating artwork.

Celebrating Access for Everyone

The Festival's 75th anniversary concluded with a reception on Tuesday 15 October, hosted by 10 Downing Street, to celebrate the impact the Literature Festival has had on the literary and cultural industry and its communities. It was also an opportunity to look ahead to what the Festival can contribute for years to come, with continued and growing support from its audiences, funders and corporate sponsors.

The evening began with a welcome from Ian George, Co-CEO of Cheltenham Festivals, the charity which produces Cheltenham Literature Festival, who described access to culture as a human right, ‘an intrinsic part of what defines us...sparking joy and curiosity’. George addressed the collective responsibility government, business, industry, grant makers and philanthropists have in raising funds ‘to secure not only the next 75 years of Cheltenham Literature Festival, but also the next 75 years of the arts for everyone’.

Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy said ‘It was an honour to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Cheltenham Literature Festival - the longest running of its kind in the world. The Festival has played a vital role in promoting the diversity of thought and has acted as a champion for writers, thinkers and new talent. I am grateful to have been a part of marking this incredible milestone and celebrating the strength of the UK literature and publishing industry."’

Guests then had the opportunity to explore three pop-up events which reflected the previous 10 days of festivities in Montpellier Gardens. Journalist Julia Wheeler chaired panel discussion on the Literature Festivals' place within the publishing industry with anecdotes from the Festival over the years. She was joined by historian and writer Peter Frankopan.

Showcasing the charity’s writing for wellbeing resource, The Scribbled Self, which was co-created with young people in Gloucestershire, students from Wyedean School took to the stage alongside co-creator Jack McCune to read poetry they had written in response to engagement with the resource. A copy is available in every secondary school across the county and workshops take place in schools throughout the year.

Images by Still Moving Media (left to right) The Gruffalo, reading to children, illustration workshop.

Nurturing the Next Generation

Cheltenham Festivals’ commitment to talent development is evident in its VOICEBOX programme. During the Festival, VOICEBOX brought youth voices to the forefront in a vibrant series of free events; #Merky Books Prize-winning poet Monika Radojevic joined authors William Rayfet Hunter and Rivers Solomon to discuss the books guaranteed to be on everyone’s must-read piles in 2025 in the #Merky Books Proof Party.

Monika Radojevic began her journey with VOICEBOX back in 2021, reading from her debut collection as one of the programmed events. She has since returned each year as a performer, workshop leader and curator. Monika joined the reception at No. 10 along with Hana Walker-Brown and Sophia Kaur Badhan to discuss how platforms like VOICEBOX help to share the stories that matter and how arts and culture can help form collective hopes for the future.

“More than ever, this year’s Festival has shown the enduring power of words and storytelling to shape our future and the world around us” said Nicola Tuxworth, Head of Programming at Cheltenham Literature Festival.  “The arts are central to sparking people’s curiosity in something, whether that’s a thought, a conversation or an entire story. Our mission is to bring together a vibrant, nuanced and broad experience of literature to our audiences, and we celebrate our 75th anniversary, we are reminded of the power of reading to inspire the next generation of writers. Here's to the next 75!”.