For 2020 Henley Festival has announced that it will be going digital, presenting a 2-hour evening concert, streamed on the Henley Festival website with performances from the Hurley House Hotel.

Popstar Will Young will perform some of his classic hits including Love Revolution, Joy and Light my fire. He says: “It’s a pleasure to be able use a home filmed show, the band and I have been working on during lockdown for Henley, a place I’ve performed in and loved. I grew up not too far from there, so it is almost a virtual home-town show.”

Henley Festival goes Digital with performances by Beverley Knight

Soul singer Beverley Knight will perform a 40 minute concert of her top hits. There will also be performances from classical pianist Hao Zi Yoh, and number one Jazz musician Joe Stilgoe. Comedy will be provided by Rory Bremner who will perform some new topical material whilst being interviewed by cricket commentator David Gower.  David Gower who has said “As a guest in previous years I have grown to love the atmosphere and diversity of the many talents on show at the Henley Festival so it is a great pleasure to add a little something back with this year’s digital event”

Festival goers can watch the digital concert from the comfort of their own homes, with tickets starting from £10.10 each and available from www.henley-festival.co.uk.

All ticket sales will help to support the not-for-profit festival to continue in 2021. Established 38 years ago as a classical music charity event, Henley Festival continues to be run on a not for profit basis.  supporting charitable projects at both a national and local level.

Henley Festival announced back in April that this year’s five day black-tie Festival will be postponed in its entirety to July 2021, moving the full 2020 line up to next year including headliners James Blunt, Madness, and Sophie Ellis Bextor. Anyone who holds tickets to the 2020 festival will be able to use them in 2021.

Henley Festival CEO Nick Mattingley said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to offer a digital version of Henley Festival for 2020 with some of the UK’s best loved performers.  This is a wonderful opportunity for people to experience the festival from the comfort of their homes.”

Ticket Information: Tickets start at £10.10 and are available to buy from henley-festival.co.uk.  Visit the festival website for further information here: http://henley-festival.co.uk/

Hitchin unlike many other towns has a rich diversity of independent businesses that have been able to stay open during the lockdown. The town is still able to boast many independent food retailers, our own independent department store, amazing and innovative fashion retailers, a wealth of hair and beauty salons, and an even greater range of coffee shops and restaurants.

Hitchin Bid has created a list of businesses currently open and trading in Hitchin. We have separated this list into Food & Drink businesses and Retail businesses. As town centres up and down the country prepare to re-open following the government’s announcement that non-essential retail can begin to trade again from next Monday, 15^th June, this list will be updated regularly.

Hitchin Roads could be closed to help social distancing

Updated: 12th June 2020

Hitchin Food & Drink businesses

Hitchin retail businesses

This summer’s Classic Ibiza at Hatfield House on Saturday 29 August will be supporting a local charity that helps people and families in eastern Hertfordshire with life-limiting illnesses.

Isabel Hospice provides free end of life care and support for patients and their families living with cancer and other illnesses, such as MND, end-stage renal, heart conditions and respiratory conditions or other complex neurological conditions. The population they serve is almost 370,000 and last year they cared for 1,855 people.

Care is based on the simple idea that patients are ordinary people living with physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. The Hospice provides enormous support to families and friends, caring for the patients and all those around them.

There will be various fundraising initiatives taking place on the evening, including a £1 donation from every programme sold, a recommended £5 donation from press and guest-list entries, as well as collection points at all onsite retailers and exit points. On-screen video and an Isabel Hospice marquee, where audience members can find out more about the work that they do, will also aid in raising the charity’s profile.

Adam Brockett, Head of Community and Events at Isabel Hospice. comments: “We need to raise £17,000 every day to keep our Hospice running and events like this will help enormously towards that goal. Our In-Patient Unit is a safe haven for people as they reach the end of their lives, but the Hospice is so much more than a building. We care for the majority of patients in their own home and across eastern Hertfordshire in the Living Well with Isabel Hubs where activities include Feel Good Singing, art and gardening sessions to promote well-being and independence for people living with a life-limiting condition. We’d like to thank Classic Ibiza for supporting us, in what promises to be a brilliant event.”

Lisa Ward, organiser of Classic Ibiza, adds: “Giving something back to the local communities that host our concerts across the UK has always been important to us and our audience. Classic Ibiza is a concert for all the family, so it’s fitting that we are working with Isabel Hospice to help people and their loved ones living with life-limiting illnesses in the region. The show is due to sell-out again, so we hope to raise significant funds and boost awareness of this extremely worthy cause.”

Classic Ibiza begins with a ‘Chill-out DJ set’ performed by former Pacha Ibiza and Ministry of Sound London resident, Jose Luis. The Urban Soul Orchestra and vocalists then take to the stage with Goldierocks for the ‘Sundowner set,’ with tracks from Orbital, Paul van Dyk, Roger Sanchez and many more. The rhythm builds further during Goldierocks’ ‘House DJ set’, which is packed full of stone-cold dance anthems. The concert then reaches a crescendo during the ‘Dance set,’ when the orchestra and vocalists return to the stage as night falls and the grounds of Hatfield turn into an alfresco nightclub with accompanying lasers. Expect tracks from The Prodigy and The Shapeshifters, to Faithless and Underworld.

Programme: 5:30pm: Car parks and gates open; 6:00pm: ‘Chill-out DJ set’ (Jose Luis); 7:30pm: ‘Sundowner set’ (Urban Soul Orchestra and Goldierocks); 8:30pm: ‘House DJ set’ (Goldierocks); 9:00pm: ‘Dance set’ and laser light show (Urban Soul Orchestra and Goldierocks); 10:15pm: Concert finishes.

Information and tickets: Visit: www.classicibiza.co.uk