Stars from the literary world are to descend on Gloucester this month when the inaugural Wordfest Festival gets underway.

The three-day festival, which runs from 8th July, will be a celebration of all things ‘word’, with notable guest speakers giving talks, as well as free live music and poetry readings held at Gloucester Cathedral. Sarah Steele, who works in the fundraising and events team at the Cathedral, is eagerly anticipating the start of Wordfest 2018. She said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to launch such an exciting new event here at the cathedral. All of our wonderful guest speakers are going to add so much to the event, there’s a great mix of topics that will be discussed as well as a number of free events for all ages to enjoy.”

The three-day festival kicks off with a tribute to the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great. Aethelflaed was a Saxon queen who defeated the Vikings in battle and founded six new towns across the Midlands. Dr Margaret C. Jones will focus on her contributions to the rebuilding of Gloucester after the Viking occupation of 877-8 AD. One of the highlights of day two comes at 10am when Adrian Partington, Gloucester Cathedral’s Director of Music, will be joined by his assistant director, Jonathan Hope, as he discusses his favourite pieces of music.

The final day is packed full of must-see events, including a talk by Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of Emeline Pankhurst and granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, both leaders in the British suffragette movement. Helen will reflect on the continuity and changes to women’s lives in the UK since the right to a parliamentary vote first granted to some women in 1918.

With 2018 being the first Wordfest, Sarah says she couldn’t be happier to have secured so many renowned guest speakers. She said: “It’s testament to the fact that the Cathedral is so widely respected, it’s a superb setting. All our visiting speakers are very excited about performing here which is really heartwarming. We’re really pleased to be welcoming so many Gloucestershire-based authors as well as internationally renowned figures.

“There’s lots of opportunities for people to come and get involved in numerous free events as well. We’ve got creative writing courses, illustration workshops and many other events for people of all ages to enjoy.”

Money raised at the event will be put to good use supporting the cathedral and its community programme. Continued Sarah: “We’ve had a lot of work done to the areas around the cathedral, so it was always the aim to make the most of the beautiful new landscaping by holding a big event there that will generate income as well as bring in members of the community who maybe haven’t visited the cathedral grounds before. Keeping a heritage building like Gloucester Cathedral going is a very expensive job so the money we raise will go straight back into the upkeep of the building and our community programme.”

Plans are already afoot for the next Wordfest, due to take place in June 2020. Said Sarah: “Wordfest is going to be a biannual event and we’re already planning ahead to the 2020 festival. We want to ensure this event becomes successful, with the support of the people of Gloucestershire I’m sure it will be.”