Cotswold People
A sense of occasion
Above: Donna Renney
Cheltenham’s amazing festivals – jazz, science, music and literature – are internationally known. Professor Lord Winston has called the science festival the best in the world. And last year’s literature festival broke its own record for ticket sales, thanks to appearances by distinguished crowd-pullers such as Gordon Brown, Bob Geldof, Julie Walters and Jeremy Paxman.
But success comes at a price, as the festivals’ first ever chief executive, Donna Renney, will tell you. At the moment, that price is in excess of £900,000 a year – for that’s what the team has to raise in sponsorship and donations. And, as the festivals loosen their ties with the borough council, that will increase to £1.25 million.
It’s Donna’s job to make sure the festivals achieve financial stability and continue to provide the quality and innovation that place them firmly on the world stage.
“We are at a period of change,” she says, “and we have some major challenges ahead. But I have an excellent staff who give their work their all. You simply wouldn’t do this job if you weren’t passionate about the arts.”
To read more about Donna, get the February issue of Cotswold Life.
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