Issue 59

EVENTS
CASE STUDY
Festival of Sport
A weekend of sport for ages 5-17, where no one is ‘left on the bench’
The brainchild of rugby
champs Will Greenwood and
Austin Healey, the Festival of
Sport offers youngsters three
days of action packed sport
with professionals at the top
of their field in the beautiful
parkland of Holkham Hall,
Norfolk. We talk to Kate
Russell, operations director
for the event.
Describe your event and how many people
it attracts?
Festival of Sport is the only UK family weekend
festival focused on multi-sport. We bring
together dozens of different sports, each in
their own dedicated zone, headed by sports
professionals that are or have been top in their
field – Team GB athletes, international caps,
Olympians, Paralympians and national team
coaches.
Sports sessions are primarily aimed at
children aged 5–17. To expand the offering
to pre-schoolers, we also have age-specific
activities for them based around sports as well
as other activities and general play. Grown-ups
also get to take part in pre-arranged fitness
sessions as well as various challenges against
the sporting legends over the course of the
weekend.
Around 1,500 people attend in total, from all
over the country. The event takes place from
Friday afternoon to Monday morning, so on
Friday and Saturday evenings we also have
live entertainment, with a more relaxed openair
cinema on Sunday night (by which time
everyone’s exhausted!).
We work with a number of charities and
corporate sponsors who fund places for
families that wouldn’t otherwise be able to
come. Our mantra is that ‘no one gets left on
the bench’ so it’s really important to us that
we create the most inclusive event possible,
with no barriers from age, ability or social
demographic.
Explain a bit about your venue and your
history with it
2023 is the third year that the event is being
held at Holkham Park, Norfolk. It’s a beautiful
backdrop, as one of the treasure houses of
England, and the space works really well for
us.
The established cricket square in front
of the hall is set within an expanse of flat,
grassed parkland so that provides the focal
point for most activities. There is also a private
lake adjacent to that area, which is ideal for
rowing and kayaking, and a ready-made 5k
trail on paths around the estate for the Sunday
morning fun run.
Even better, there is plenty of space for
camping, glamping and parking, all still very
close to the activity zones.
What is the event’s history and what made
you decide to run it?
Festival of Sport was co-founded by 2003
Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood and
Austin Healey, capped 51 times for England.
The duo also co-own Legend Holidays
48 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM