Greenbelt festival
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The Greenbelt festival is the largest Christian arts and music festival in the world, taking place annually in England during the last bank holiday weekend in August.
Since its start in 1974, Greenbelt has grown from a youth event, to which 1500 people came, to seeing crowds of nearly 30,000 in the mid-1980s. It now has a focus that is much broader than youth. The festival regularly attracts the biggest names of Christian music and many mainstream musicians. Those that have played the festival in the past include old rockers, new folksters and soaring pop-stars. That has encompassed U2, Cliff Richard, Bruce Cockburn, Steve Taylor, Daniel Amos, Over the Rhine, Iona, Amy Grant, Miles Cain, Lamb, dfg, Lambchop, Goldie, Jamelia, After the Fire, Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, The Polyphonic Spree and Delirious?.
Greenbelt is also a venue for teaching and discussion around (but not exclusively) the Christian faith, and has attracted a large number of famous Christian speakers, including the Archbishop of Canterbury who is now the festival's patron. However, it is not just about inviting Christians to speak. The festival welcomes anyone who the organisers believe 'speaks for justice', usually meaning that they are on the political left, and has recently had Anita Roddick, Peter Tatchell, Bill Drummond and Billy Bragg sharing their thoughts. Greenbelt sees itself as having never been shy of tackling controversial issues and providing a 'safe space for honest debate'.
More recently with its links to the NGO Christian Aid, Greenbelt has become heavily involved in campaigns for trade justice. The festival was one of the main catalysts for the huge Jubilee 2000 movement. Greenbelt is also a showcase for performing arts, visual arts and alternative worship, again, not exclusively Christian.
Greenbelt has been staged at a number of different venues in its history. In 1999 it moved from open green field sites to the more permament facilities of Cheltenham Racecourse. For various reasons (including a one off move away from its traditional August Bank holiday weekend), it attracted under 5,000 die-hard Greenbelters. However it has grown each year since and in 2004 was attended by over 17,000 people.
When at its Odell Castle and later at its Castle Ashby location, it was well-known for its unsanitary toilet facilities, something which organisers and concert-goers treated as a running joke.
Festival locations and themes
- GB01 1974 Prospect Farm, Charsfield, Suffolk
- GB02 1975 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB03 1976 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB04 1977 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB05 1978 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB06 1979 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB07 1980 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB08 1981 Odell Castle, Bedfordshire
- GB09 1982 Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire
- GB10 1983 Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire
- GB11 1984 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire
- GB12 1985 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire
- GB13 1986 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire
- GB14 1987 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire
- GB15 1988 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire
- GB16 1989 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire "Art and Soul"
- GB17 1990 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire "Rumours of Glory"
- GB18 1991 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire "Wrestling with Angels"
- GB19 1992 Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire "Journeys of the heart"
- GB20 1993 Deene Park, Northamptonshire "Field of Dreams"
- GB21 1994 Deene Park, Northamptonshire "Roots, Rhythm and Redemption"
- GB22 1995 Deene Park, Northamptonshire "Can these dry bones dance?"
- GB23 1996 Deene Park, Northamptonshire "Windows on wild heaven"
- GB24 1997 Deene Park, Northamptonshire "Divine Comedy"
- GB25 1998 Deene Park, Northamptonshire
- GB26 1999 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Deeper and Wider"
- GB27 2000 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "heaven@earth.com"
- GB28 2001 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Eternal echoes"
- GB29 2002 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Kiss of life"
- GB30 2003 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Diving for pearls"
- GB31 2004 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Freedom bound"
- GB32 2005 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Tree of life"
- GB33 2006 Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire "Redemption Songs"
See also
External links
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