Background
The Festival blazed into life in July 1973. Since then, over a million people have enjoyed outstanding performances of theatre, dance, film and every kind of music, plus literary events and the visual arts. From mid-May to early June each year, the beautiful historic city of Salisbury is transformed as people flock to the Festival, enjoying both ticketed events and free performances.
Headlines
Over 100 shows with
1200 artists from 10 countries
Over 55,000 attendees
9 World Premieres
2 UK Premieres
22 sold out shows
3000 at Free Opening Event, Transe Express
4000 at The Big Play
2000 at the Festival Finale
Impressive national media coverage:
- Over £1 million worth of print coverage
- More than 108 million opportunities to see or hear about the Festival (increase of 54% from 70 million in 2008)
Including: BBC television news, ITV television news, Radio 4 - Mid week and Radio 3 - In Tune, The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Period Living & The Sunday Times.
"Ear catching cross-fertilizations abound" BBC Music Magazine March 2009
"Theatre, music, literature and movie delights at this year's SIAF" Guardian, March 2009
"Comedy of Errors - pick of the week" Guardian Guide 2009
"Two weeks with a theme, a focus, a flair for cross-continental connections and a joyous sense of occasion" - Classical Music Magazine
'Five best talks & festivals in 2009' - The Independent, The Information
"Salisbury International Arts Festival relishes dynamic themes" - Classic FM Magazine
"Top Five Events in 2009" - The Times Knowledge
"Hitting the cultural agenda - what's hot in the weeks ahead" - Sunday Times Culture
"One of the most respected Festivals in the UK" - Nick Dodds, BAFA Chairman
Free Events
2009 saw the Festival delivering more free events than ever. Reaching a huge number of people
(23,000 - 42% of attendees) the events created a palpable sense of celebration in the region.
From stumbling upon entertaining street theatre on market days to the wonderful spectacle of
Transe Express entertaining 3,000 people there was more then ever to do.
Website:
www.salisburyfestival.co.uk
The website allowed us to reach more people again this year.
This year the website attracted:
- 40,000 unique visitors since Jan 2009
- 94% increase in numbers of pages viewed during Dec 08-June 09
compared to the same time last year
- 21,366 web visitors added the Festival website to their list of favorites
since Jan, 2009.
- Over £40,000 online sales
- Visitors from the UK, Australia, US, Canada, Peru, Netherlands and
France
Audience Feedback
'Amazing, difficult to put into words just how brilliant' Jane
Congratulations on your first Salisbury International Festival! - and thanks for all the riches therein. John
This year's (Festival) was as exciting as ever. There was a real WOW factor! It will stay in the memory for a very long time. Margaret
I've just been singing along to my recording of the Mozart Requiem, trying to recapture the sheer joy of last nights' performance - my yearly dose of heaven with Howard and SFC. Many thanks for making it all possible. Liz (member of the Festival Chorus)
Congratulations to the team. What a good Festival! You even charmed the weather-gods! John
I believe that the festival was a huge success this year, congratulations to you and your team! Lisa
I think it is like you are in a spaceship and like you are moon walking Daisy (about Architects of Air)
The Marriage of Figaro was "better than Glyndebourne" feedback from a very happy chap who is already looking forward to next year's opera at the Festival
National Profile and Economic Impact
The Salisbury International Arts Festival was named "one of the top multi-arts festivals in the country'' along with Edinburgh and Brighton in The Information Supplement 2008 and described by the Independent on Sunday as "The best festival to attend this summer" along with the Edinburgh Fringe.
The growth of Salisbury International Arts Festival over the past decade has been impressive by any standard and has put it into the top league of festivals in the UK. To put this into context here are some facts and figures: Salisbury Festival is in the top 6% of arts festivals in the UK. It spends over £700,000 per annum (1) with a turnover of over £1M. The average number of events that takes place in UK arts festivals is 51 (2). In 2009 SIAF put on over 100. In addition there were over 50 free acts as part of Salisbury Live.
The Festival has generates £3Million for the local economy.
Artistic Significance
Within the South of England Salisbury International Arts Festival is one of the most significant cultural organisations and one of the most important arts festivals.
The Festival brings events to Salisbury that would not otherwise come to the region and the artists who visit the Festival carry the name of Salisbury around the world. The Festival has a strong history of commissioning unique and excellent work, including:
- 4 year project with the author Vikram Seth and composer Alec Roth. The world premiere performance took place at Wilton Church, Salisbury and had subsequent performances at the Chelsea and Lichfield Festivals.
In 2009 the Festival presented 9 commissioned works including:
- Seven Elements: The fourth stage of the Confluences project was met with positive feedback including a 4 star review in the Times and the
- Salisbury Vespers: This amazing project bought together the choirs and orchestras (over 600 people) of the Wilshire to perform a commissioned piece from composer Bob Chilcott that has been called by critics 'the composer's finest achievement'
- The Avon: This is the third large sculpture sited on the A303 and created through a unique ongoing partnership with QinetiQ apprentices and artist, Charlotte Moreton.
- Leap of Faith - This lively work by local artists Hoodwink was given its premiere performance through the Festival
- Five Rivers - artists Andy Sheppard and Kuljit Bhamra were inspired by the 5 rivers of Wiltshire and of the Punjab. Taking electronic sound samples from the
rivers and weaving the whole into a wonderful evening of sonic exploration
- Stonehenge - artists in Resident Kuljit Bhamra created a heart-stopping event at dusk at Stonehenge, bringing together dancers, musicians and a shamanistic
singer.
The Festival also plays an important role within the local community. There are free events for families and young people during the Festival including street performances and processions. In 2008 the Festival also launched the first ever Big Play in partnership with Salisbury District Council and Big Lottery - this grew in 2009 and attracted over 4000 people. This initiative brings opportunities for children to participate in free play events throughout the Festival. The Play Day was a culmination of an extended Festival Children's programme and was a resounding success. Further partnerships with Natural England, community groups, schools, local arts organisations and local media are developing some exciting community and environmental projects and ensuring that the
Salisbury Festival remains embedded with its local community.