THE TWO ‘A’S OF A GREAT FESTIVAL - MARCH 7 - 2.19PM - 2020

2020 Oxford Literature Festival’s value for money

Call me old fashioned, but I always like to refer to the Oxford Literary Festival as Britain’s only AA festival... Accessible and Affordable that is. When you consider the pedigree of some of its guest speakers, and the choice of splendid venues they occupy (The Sheldonian and Bodleian for example) it’s astonishing just how good value the festival’s events are. For instance, consider the following: you can get to see, hear and maybe even meet the following authors/celebrities - renowned chef Prue Leith, one of the UK’s best known naturalists and conservationists Chris Packham, newscaster, broadcaster and Mastermind host John Humphrys, cricketing legend Henry Blofeld, tv historian Michael Wood, one of Britain’s best known and respected politicians Ken Clarke and the creator of the ‘No 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ Alexander McCall Smith - for anywhere between £7 to £15 (the differentiation in prices is according to where you sit as many of these are being held in The Sheldonian). Similarly, you can enjoy an audience with famous names like crime writer Val McDermid, Olympic gold medalist Lady Mary Peters, Lady Brenda Hale (and maybe too her now famous spider brooch) who as president of the Supreme Court of the UK declared Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament unlawful, theoretical physicist and tv presenter Professor Jim Al-Khalili, former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis and Newsnight journalist and presenter Kirsty Wark, acclaimed Hollywood actress Greta Scacchi, TV historian Ruth Goodman, poet and Booker prize-winning novelist Ben Okri and best-selling creator of the Alex Rider series Anthony Horowitz - all for £7 to £12.50. Add to that Lucy Worsley and Dermot O‘Leary for £10, spine chilling author Michelle Paver for £8 and a whole host of other familiar names for ticket prices between £8 to £20, and it all adds up to a really affordable experience. Plus of course, there are numerous free events as well (but more on those next week). As for accessibility, I’ll be taking a look at that tomorrow...