Giffords Circus is a magical village green circus that tours England from the first days of spring to the first glimpse of winter. It’s our hymn to homemade fun, excess and benign disruption. We want our show to move something in you, and to take just a little while to recover from. We want it, wish it and mean it with all of our hearts, because it is everything we believe about life and art and love.

Because as Nell would say “Art is Love”.

Giffords Circus is what we would all like to find if we were driving along a road, a glimpse of the tent with the words ‘Giffords Circus’ shining from the top, appearing mysteriously where it wasn’t the day before and might not be tomorrow. It is the intrigue that we would stop for and it is what we would make a pilgrimage for. It is how we travel back to our childhood and how we move forwards surrounded by music, loved ones and laughter. We wear our best clothes, and wellies and run away to the circus.

The 30th anniversary Cheltenham Jazz Festival returns from 29 April – 4 May 2026, featuring headliners Jessie J, Van Morrison, Joss Stone, and Jack Savoretti. Held across various venues in Cheltenham, the event offers a mix of international stars, contemporary jazz, and free "around town" shows, with tickets now on sale.

Cidermill Theatre hosts Chipping Campden Literature Festival.

Founded in 2010 by Vicky Bennett, Chipping Campden Literature Festival has become renowned for presenting a series of thought provoking, original, and wide-ranging events featuring some of the world's greatest writers. From 2024 onwards she was joined by her husband Charlie as Co-Director.

The show was named UK Rural Event of the Year 2024 in the NOEA awards, highlighting its significance and excellence in celebrating rural life, agriculture, and the community.

INTRODUCING

“I held the jewel of my childhood up to my eye, and through it I saw ponies and a dressing-up box and a tent, and that was Giffords Circus"
Nell Gifford

Bringing world-class performers to this stunning Cotswold town & sublime acoustic of St James' Church.

The 2026 Tewkesbury Medieval Festival is scheduled for July 11–12, 2026, on the historic battle site in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, UK. Renowned as Europe's largest free medieval reenactment, it features over 2,000 participants, a massive recreation of the 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury, authentic encampments, a medieval market, and entertainment.

Martin and Lizzie Graham started promoting opera in the grounds of their home in 1991 as Banks Fee Opera. Longborough Festival Opera has since grown into an established opera company, situated in the heart of the Cotswolds, with an annual season taking place in a purpose-built opera house seating 500.

Longborough Festival Opera remains a family affair: Martin and Lizzie's daughter, the acclaimed opera director Polly Graham, was appointed as Artistic Director in 2018.

Now the company is an independent charity that continues Martin Graham's legacy in the theatre he built in the grounds of the family home. It is not in receipt of public grant funding nor any revenue from the Graham family, and relies on ticket sales and the generosity of members and audiences.

Throughout Longborough's history, Martin and Lizzie achieved what some might have said to be impossible: in 2013 they presented a full-length production of Wagner's Ring Cycle with minimal budgets but to great critical acclaim, establishing the Festival as a destination for Wagnerians in the UK and abroad. In 2019 the company embarked on a new Ring, culminating in another new full cycle in 2024.