Cheltenham may be often seen as a sleepy little town tucked between Bristol and Birmingham allowing convenient access to the dreamy Cotswolds.  Some might say not a lot happens in Cheltenham…until the festivals come to town, of course.

Cheltenham Festivals was inspired to give everyone access to a world where they can enjoy culture and its series of four key festivals across the year, and it continues to grow and grow year on year selling over 200,000 tickets annually.  Most of the festivals have their hub right in the heart of the town in Imperial Gardens, directly opposite The Queens Hotel.  The Queens Hotel is often regarded as festival HQ for many visitors to the area and we are proud to be a key partner in kind to the festival organisers.

Here we take you through some of the key highlights to look out for in the 2023/2024 programme.

The world’s most fascinating scientists, thought-leaders and creators come together during Cheltenham’s Science Festival – taking place in 2023 from 6 – 11 June. No subject is off limits when it comes to discussing all things scientific and futuristic.  There are hundreds of events taking place across the town and this year’s theme is ‘Be the Change’, with a number of events exploring mental wellbeing, human behaviours and sustainability.

There are free interactive zones where kids of all ages (and big kids) can play on arcade games from across the decades, learn how to code a robot and a multisensory maze to test all the sense of the body. Listen to guest speakers like BBC broadcaster and doctor Chris van Tulleken talk about processed foods, what they are doing to our bodies and why exercise and willpower alone cannot save us.

Image credit; VisitCheltenham and Still Moving Media.

The Cheltenham Literature Festival is one of the largest events in the festival calendar. With worldwide recognition and sponsored by The Times, the festival spans 10 days from 7th – 16th October 2023.  Hundreds of ticketed and free events take place across the town for the whole family supported by leading writers, new authors and high profile speakers.

This year’s programme is still being finalised but last year saw prolific writers like Stephen King, Celeste Ng (writer of Amazon Prime adapted series Little Fires Everywhere) and 2007 Booker prize winner Anne Enright attend the festival alongside stars of screen and stage such as Rylan Clarke, Jarvis Cocker and Stanley Tucci.

Image credit; VisitCheltenham and Still Moving Media.