New award shortlisting for Chester Festival of Ideas

The free, four-day summer highlight has been shortlisted for a 2025/26 Visit Cheshire Tourism Award in the category of Best Event or Festival.

The announcement follows the festival being unveiled as a finalist in the Times Higher Education Awards, known as the ‘Oscars’ of UK higher education, for Knowledge Exchange/Transfer Initiative of the Year.

Earlier this year, the festival also received an award from the Chester Civic Trust recognising how it has brought people together to enjoy free, inclusive events on a wide range of themes. The festival was a winner in the ‘Good’ category of the Trust’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Awards 2025.

The 2025 Festival of Ideas wowed a strong turnout of visitors with nearly 100 free events. Organised by the University of Chester with the support of partners, it offered celebratory, entertaining, creative, informative and inspiring events for all ages and interests.

The festival returned after its inaugural success in 2024, with everything from the chance to hear from well-known sportspeople and broadcasters to the opportunity to get creative at art workshops and enjoy guided walks. 

With thousands of event attendances, feedback included: “Well done everyone involved in a great team effort to make this festival such a special event! Truly inspirational.”

Events were hosted, from July 3 to 6, at venues across Chester, including Chester Town Hall - the festival hub, Storyhouse, the Grosvenor Museum, Chester Cathedral, Chester Market, and event spaces across the University of Chester. Partners who kindly supported the festival for the first time this year included Chester Picturehouse cinema, and Chester Visual Arts space in Grosvenor Shopping Centre, both of which hosted specialist events at their venues.

Among the guests this year were nine-time Paralympian champion, Hannah Cockroft OBE and former chief news correspondent for the BBC, Kate Adie CBE. The free festival also provided a fantastic opportunity to find out more about public engagement and research led by the University, and a Family Fun Day was hosted at the University’s Exton Park site. 

More was added to the mix with exciting sessions from city festival partners such as Chester Zoo and the Grosvenor Museum while schools hosted a range of events around the theme of ‘Our Future in Our Hands’.

Discussing the latest award shortlisting, Katherine Wilson, Director of Chester Festival of Ideas and Professor of Later Medieval European History at the University of Chester, said: “We’re honoured to be a finalist in the 2025/26 Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards.

“The shortlisting recognises the efforts of colleagues and partners from across the Cheshire community and beyond who join together to create this opportunity to share learning and ideas - from our planning team, steering group and guest speakers to those running venues, all the event leaders and volunteers - and all our visitors.

“We look forward to the awards as we plan for the 2026 Festival of Ideas.”

The Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards, organised by Marketing Cheshire, celebrate excellence across the region’s £3.9bn visitor economy, with finalists competing in 18 categories. This year saw a record number of entries, and some category winners will automatically qualify for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, where they will represent Cheshire and Warrington on the national stage.

Jamie Christon, Chair of Marketing Cheshire, said: “Tourism in Cheshire and Warrington is truly world-class, supporting 38,000 jobs and welcoming over 56 million visitors each year. It’s fantastic to see such a bumper crop of entries once again, showcasing the trailblazing businesses and inspirational individuals driving the region’s success. The judges have an unenviable task this year - the standard has been exceptional.”

Chester Festival of Ideas will be back in 2026, from July 2 to 5. For further announcements on the festival, keep an eye on: https://festivalofideas.chester.ac.uk/

Images - from top:

• Kate Adie CBE in conversation with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chester, Professor Eunice Simmons.
• A wide range of talks and experiences from authors of the University of Chester Press were presented, including Dr Anthony Annakin-Smith sharing the story of the Foundling Hospital at Chester.
• Schools-led events shared learning including insights into the contribution of children to the industrial heritage of the North West and Chester.
• Creating lanterns as part of the VR Lantern Festival Experience.