ORGANISERS of the Wye Valley River Festival marked this year’s World Rivers Day (27th September) by announcing the dates, theme and outline programme for next year’s event.

Next year’s event, from its launch in Hereford on 29th April to its finale near Chepstow on 15th May, will bring a series of innovative, intriguing and spectacular events to locations along a 60-mile stretch of the River Wye, under the central theme of Global Arteries.

The Wye Valley River Festival is a biennial festival inspired by the landscape and led by arts professionals collaborating with the people who live in and around the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Launching the event, Andrew Blake, Wye Valley AONB officer, said: “After our first festival’s tidal wave of success in 2014, we’re setting our sights high to make our second, 17-day festival even more amazing. Exciting, entertaining and educational, the 2016 event is a celebration of nature, culture, landscape and life along the River Wye between Hereford and Chepstow in the stunning Wye Valley AONB.

“Each year, World Rivers Day involves millions of people in more than 60 countries in a global celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of our rivers and aims to increase public awareness of the ways in which rivers contribute to our lives, the environmental issues that they face and the need to care more for all rivers around the world. It is a fitting occasion to launch our own celebration of the River Wye in its context as a Global Artery.

“Exciting arts and performances will illuminate a myriad of issues regarding water use, the health of our river environment and our connections to river citizens across the globe.”

The festival is spearheaded by Wye Valley AONB Partnership with support from the Arts Council in England and Wales, the AONB Sustainable Development Fund, the Environment Agency and various local organisations, volunteers and communities along the Wye Valley.

For more details about the Wye Valley River Festival visit www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk