Festival artistic director to retire after 30 years

THE Henley Festival’s long-serving artistic director is to retire.

Stewart Collins, who has been involved with the musical event for the past 30 years, will step down after next year’s festival.

The announcement came less than two months after the resignation of festival chief executive Nick Mattingley after just over a year in post.

During Mr Collins’s time, the summer evening festival has grown from four days to five and increased its audiences thanks to popular headliners such as Elton John, Sting, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Rita Ora, Joss Stone, Jessie J, Paloma Faith, Pet Shop Boys, Lionel Richie and Nile Rodgers and Chic.

Mr Collins said: “My association with the Henley Festival has been one of the greatest joys imaginable in what has, happily, been a very stimulating and rewarding career.

“It has been the bulk of my career. I have adored the event, grown with it and fashioned it into the thing it is today. It became a love affair.

“It’ll be weird to sort of take my final bow but, on the other hand, I never imagined all those years ago I would still be doing it in 2021.”

Mr Collins, who will continue working at Petworth Festival, which he founded, added: “I have no intention of stopping what I do, of course, but my 30 years in Henley have enabled me to work with an astonishing array of artists and allowed some wonderful flights of fantasy in the course of delivering what is unquestionably one of the great events of the British summer.

“I have also been privileged to work with a whole generation of young artists and performers who have gone on to establish wonderful careers in music, comedy and the visual arts.”

Mr Collins said he had been given a huge amount of freedom when choosing the acts.

He continued: “I’m incredibly proud of the fact that the festival has got a place, not just in the diary of Henley and our locality, but also as a really important festival in the entire national calendar, if you like.

“It was running for four days when I joined but we expanded to increase it to the maximum use we could put the site to.

“The Sunday night didn’t exist originally and the family event on the Sunday became bigger.

“It has changed dramatically and it’s quite exciting to reflect on that.”

Mr Collins said that he had enjoyed booking stars such as Elton John and tenor José Carreras, who was one of the first big names to perform at the festival.

He added: “Some people still remember the specific events that ran alongside the fireworks, including the very famous Flying Drummers.

“Thirty years is a long time and I’m not retiring as an artistic director as such but there comes a point where every event and organisation can probably benefit from a fresh approach.

“I’ve always come to the festival with new ideas but in everybody’s life there comes a moment where you think. ‘this is the moment to move on’.” The festival couldn’t take place this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic so a virtual event was held instead.

All the headliners agreed to appear next year instead. They are Madness, James Blunt, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sara Cox, Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr Collins said: “To have hung up my boots in 2020 would have been a ghastly way of finishing. With any luck there will be a full festival that we know and love next year.

“It’s a really good programme and I’m incredibly proud of it so I will be going out with the right kind of bang.”

Festival chairman Lord Carter said: “Stewart has been the creative force behind the festival for many years. His enthusiasm has only been matched by his knowledge of the festival community and we look forward to his last hurrah.”

Following Mr Mattingley’s departure, head of marketing Jo Bausor was made interim chief executive, working in partnership with Mr Collins and Emma Lerche-Thomsen, who is membership development manager.