Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, also known as the "Festival of Brexit"[1][2] is to be held in 2022 as being a celebration of Brexit.[1][2]

The idea of a "festival of Brexit" in 2022 dates back to the government of Theresa May.[3][4] Jacob Rees-Mogg at the time used the name "festival of Brexit" to describe the event.[5]

The festival's director is Martin Green, who previously organized the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.[6]

£120 million of public funds are planned to be spent on the event.[7] In a press release, the government compared the event to the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Great Exhibition of 1851.[8] It has been suggested that during a global pandemic, the allocated funds might be better spent in other areas, and MP Jamie Stone (politician) has launched a petition to campaign for the festival's cancellation.[9]

References
  1. Bassett, Jordan (2020-01-13). "Here's why the planned "festival of Brexit" strikes a sour note". NME. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  2. "'Festival of Brexit' to go ahead in 2022". The Week UK. January 13, 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  3. Clarke, Hilary; Frater, James (September 30, 2018). "May's plan for a Brexit festival flops on social media". CNN. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  4. Devenport, Mark (2018-09-30). "Festival to 'strengthen precious union'". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  5. Young, Angus (2020-01-13). "Brexit festival boss Martin Green wants to create 'joy and hope'". hulldailymail. Retrieved 2020-01-14. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg then dubbed it "the Festival of Brexit" and the name has since stuck.
  6. Brown, Mark (2020-01-12). "'Festival of Brexit' boss says £120m event will prove cynics wrong". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  7. "UK festival of creativity and innovation to be held in 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  8. Morton, Tom (19 Nov 2019). "The Spectacular Emptiness of Boris Johnson's 'Festival of Brexit'". Frieze. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  9. "Cancel the Brexit Festival!". Retrieved 28 January 2021.


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