Previously dubbed the Festival of Brexit, or less controversially, the new Festival of Britain, details of the UK’s celebration of creativity that will take place throughout the spring and summer of 2022 have finally been announced. And it’s all a lot less inflammatory – and more relevant, timely and exciting for the future of creativity – than previous reports may have suggested.
The history of the 2022 event is this: at the 2018 Conservative party conference, then-prime minister Theresa May announced plans for Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take place in 2022. It was intended to strengthen what May described as “our precious union” and also to mark the anniversary of key moments in UK history including the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the BBC.
The £120 million project was divisive from the off, though the appointment of Martin Green, organiser of the opening and closing …