MAJOR GREEN FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED FOR BRISTOL IN JUNE 2012
Saturday, 19th November 2011
The city of Bristol is to host a world-class festival of sustainability from 9th - 17th June 2012, bringing together leading global experts and thinkers to share ideas and inspiration on developing a green future.
Bristol’s BIG Green Week will include a strong cultural element with music, theatre and comedy performances, a film festival, and new art, all reflecting an environmental theme. Street art and exhibitions will transform the city centre. And the week will culminate in the Festival of Nature, Europe's largest free natural history festival.
Bristol is one of the UK's leading cities for sustainable development and Bristol's Big Green Week – the first week of its kind in the UK - will tap into the city's rich resource of green expertise and practical experience. The event is jointly curated by Bristol Green Capital, Forum for the Future, and Bristol Natural History Consortium, and supported by Bristol City Council.
Confirmed speakers include: IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri, TV’s Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud; National Trust chief executive Fiona Reynolds; leading green writer and thinker Jonathon Porritt; the Eden Project’s Tim Smit; author and thinker Sara Parkin; campaigner and writer Tony Juniper; and author and activist Andrew Simms.
Peter Madden, CEO of Forum for the Future, said:
“We want people to come to Bristol's Big Green Week to be educated, inspired and have fun. We’re banishing environmental doom and gloom, and offering instead a rich programme of inspiration, with culture, talks and performance. Our goal is to create a world-class event, mentioned in the same breath – and attracting the same buzz – as the Edinburgh, Hay and Cheltenham Festivals.”
Bristol City Council Leader Barbara Janke said:
“Bristol is an ambitious and vibrant green city so it is a fitting location for such an exciting, landmark festival. Bristol’s Big Green Week will act as a showcase for the city’s many environmental organisations and projects, and reinforce our credentials as one of the leading green cities in Europe.”
Alastair Sawday, chair of Bristol Green Capital said:
“Bristol is buzzing with imaginative projects and creative ideas, and the exciting programme of events being planned for Bristol’s BIG Green Week reflects that. The need for change has never been greater, and I'm pleased to say that Bristol is as the forefront. But we have much more to do, and it will be exhilarating to host people from across the UK and Europe to share good ideas. I'm looking forward to it.”
For more information about Bristol's BIG Green Week see www.biggreenweek.com
Contact: Paul Rainger, Bristol’s BIG Green Week, tel: 0117 930 7300 mobile: 07824 692148 email: info@biggreenweek.com
