Coventry festivals receive Commonwealth Games legacy funding

Coventry City Council has been awarded £750,000 ($950,000/€870,000) of Commonwealth Games legacy funding to support the Godiva Festival and the new Caribbean Reggae Fever event.

The annual Godiva Festival has received £500,000 from the Major Event Fund.

This fund was established to reinvest the £70 million underspend from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games into the West Midlands, in the UK.

The Godiva Festival is a three-day live music event held each year in Coventry’s War Memorial Park.

It is scheduled to take place from July 5-7 this year while the first edition of the Caribbean Reggae Fever festival, which was given £250,000 from the fund, is due to be held on July 20 in the same
location.

“We are thrilled to be receiving £750,000 in legacy funding for major events in Coventry,” said Councillor Abdul Salam Khan of Coventry City Council.

“Godiva Festival is the highlight of our city’s event calendar. This year, we are celebrating the 25th Godiva Festival and with this funding we hope we can make it bigger and better than ever.

“The additional funding will allow us to expand the capacity to increase the space in the park so we can attract a greater audience across the weekend. We will also use the funding to develop the
sustainability of the event and look at bespoke volunteering opportunities at the festival.”

Godiva Festival has featured high-profile artists in the past such as Kasabian, The Boomtown Rats, and Happy Mondays.

This year’s lineup is set to be announced in the coming weeks prior to tickets going on sale.

Caribbean Reggae Fever will see a celebration of Caribbean culture through music, crafts, costume, sport, food, and entertainment.

In total, nine cultural and sporting events taking place across the West Midlands this year have shared £3 million of the Commonwealth Games legacy funding.

“It was always our intention that the Commonwealth Games should leave a lasting legacy far beyond the sporting spectacle – as wonderful as that was,” said West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.

Coventry served as a host for Birmingham 2022, with the Games’ rugby sevens, judo, and wresting events taking place in the city.