Buxton Festival

The 2008 Festival - 9-27 July.

Buxton Festival soon celebrates its 30th anniversary - with the biggest and best programme yet.

July 9 - 27 promises to be the highlight of this summer's cultural calendar with more than 120 events over 19 days: 6 operas, 19 literary speakers, 43 concerts, an afternoon ballet, cooking demonstrations, workshops, walks and talks, all set in the beautiful Peak District.

This landmark year boasts a number of firsts:

• Dame Janet Smith takes over the Festival chairmanship from Roy Hattersley. Dame Janet is a Lady Justice sitting in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. She attended the first Festival 30 years ago and has been a supporter ever since.
• The launch of the Festival for a Fiver initiative - under-30s qualify for £5 tickets to any event in a bid to engage young people in the arts.
• A third Festival opera is added to the programme, marking the 30th anniversary. Unlike many counterparts, Buxton Festival produces its own opera as well as inviting touring companies to perform. For the first time this year, three full-scale operas will be staged by the Festival.
• An exhibition showcasing winning works from the Festival's inaugural poetry competition, run in partnership with the University of Derby, Buxton.
• A new World Music Series: seven late night shows in a laid back setting, featuring expert musicians from across the globe. Including Latino beats from Cuba, sounds of the sitar from India and Chinese folk music.

The Festival has a long history of producing rare opera in-house gaining a national reputation for excellence.
Together with its first-class morning literary series the event draws big names and a faithful audience.

Many events are set in the historic spa town's exquisite Opera House, designed by Frank Matcham in the nineteenth century.

To date, 50 per cent of our audience has attended the Festival five times or more.
And this year's sales are on course to smash last year's record of 40,000 tickets.

www.buxtonfestival.co.uk