About Greenbelt

We believe that by creating hospitable spaces of belonging where exceptional arts, courageous activism and open-hearted belief come together, we can inspire & empower participants –communities, families, activists, artists & organisations – to collaborate, conspire and act for the common good.

Our history is firmly rooted within a Christian tradition which is world-affirming, politically and culturally engaged. Ours is a belief that embraces instead of excludes. And, as such, the festival is an inter-generational celebration, inclusive and accepting of all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, background or belief.

We stand for an inclusive and progressive Christian faith, which means we are committed to:

Putting people first

• igniting community which celebrates life
• welcoming all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, sexuality, disability or background
• nurturing an empowered staff and volunteer body in a culture of openness, creativity, humility and accountability

Transforming life for the common good

• working for justice
• challenging oppression
• listening to those with no voice and standing with people on the margins

Using our resources wisely and responsibly

• reducing our impact on the good earth
• trading and investing with people and communities in mind, not simply to maximise financial return
• celebrating the power of people to change history
• inspiring and resourcing each other to live lives marked by artistry, activism and spirituality

Collaborating, conspiring and conversing

• partnering with like-minded individuals, groups and organisations to dream new dreams, and become more than the sum of our parts
• helping staff, volunteers, Angels and festivalgoers to re-imagine Greenbelt both as an annual festival and around the year
• modelling through creative friendship compelling approaches to art, activism and and spirituality in our time

Cherishing the journey as much as the destination

• questioning intolerance, greed, prejudice and injustice
• exploring ideas, beliefs, stories and traditions, both those which challenge and those which affirm
• creating spaces to incubate new perspectives, celebrate curiosity and enrich our understanding through dialogue and diversity

The Sun newspaper billed the first Greenbelt Festival in 1974 as ‘The Nice People’s Pop Festival’, but perhaps it was more subversive than it appeared. Back in the 1970s, Greenbelt’s holistic take – ‘Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other’ – had a transforming impact, believing that all artistic expression and endeavour was God-given. And, while the initial draw of the Festival in the 1970s lay in this celebration of the arts (and music especially), its appeal broadened through the 1980s as a growing internationalism emerged from the concerns of festival organisers.

Among significant new voices heard at the festival in this period were Nicaraguan minister Gustavo Parajon, South African anti-apartheid activist Caesar Molebatsi and Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Melkite priest from Nazareth. Then, in the 1990s, as the evangelical musical subculture slowly dried up, the heart and mind of Greenbelt broadened and strengthened still more.

Artists were invited not just because they were believers or had a distant churchgoing relative, but because their vision overlapped with a biblical one of global justice (Bob Geldof) or engaging with the political powers (Midnight Oil) or was simply fuelled by a divine sense of wonder (Waterboys). 

The festival grew from an initial 2,000 in 1974 and, by the early 1980s, there were more than 20,000 people coming each year. But, for a whole variety of reasons, numbers declined in the 1990s. And a series of disastrously wet August Bank Holidays didn’t help. Only the loyalty of a small core of committed believers who’d grown up with the festival kept an increasingly unlikely show on the road.

These believers became Greenbelt’s ‘Angels’ in the mid-1990s. And then, in 1999, with attendance at its lowest since the first festival in 1974, Greenbelt moved away from its green-field locations and de-camped to Cheltenham Racecourse. 

To some, it seemed like the end. Yet, the move proved to be a lifesaver. Greenbelt spent 15 happy years there, regrouping, regrowing, rediscovering itself. Then, after celebrating its 40th edition in 2013, the festival moved again – back to a greenfield site in Northamptonshire, to Boughton House, near Kettering.

Over the years, as Greenbelt has cemented its partnership with Christian Aid and other associate agencies, Greenbelters have translated debate about political engagement and international injustice into vigorous campaigning, re-imagining the Christian community as an infectious global conspiracy.

And still Greenbelt believes – along with Scottish writer and broadcaster Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh – that only the arts come close to capturing the mystery of The Other that haunts us.

… all great art … breaks through the frustration of language and unites us with that which language only usually signifies.

The future at Boughton brings with it exciting challenges and the chance to keep producing the UK’s leading festival of artistry and activism – fuelled by a uniquely progressive spiritual vision.