MSP Angus Robertson praised arts festivals as essential contributors to national life and announced plans to increase their funding. It was a somewhat ironic moment, occurring two months after Robertson’s statement that public funds could not substitute corporate sponsorship, as the partnerships between investment management company Baillie Gifford and nine literary festivals concluded.
The Baillie Gifford sponsorships, which provided financial support to events such as the Hay festival, Edinburgh international book festival, and Cheltenham literature festival, came to a close following a campaign by Fossil Free Books (FFB). The campaign urged the asset manager to divest from fossil-fuel companies and firms associated with Israel.
Currently, festivals are actively working on finding alternative funding solutions. In July, a group of festivals released a joint statement, reaching out for support and requesting donations. Cheltenham has expressed its intention to reduce expenses “where it proves necessary”; Stratford plans to implement certain modifications to the festival’s management; and Cambridge has recently raised ticket prices.
According to Fiona Razvi, director of Wimbledon BookFest, it appears that there is no magical solution. Baillie Gifford used to be one of Wimbledon’s major sponsors until June. In Razvi’s view, an ideal solution would involve another corporate company taking over from Baillie Gifford. However, finding a replacement won’t happen immediately. According to Annie Ashworth, the director of the Stratford literary festival, which Baillie Gifford had sponsored for more than ten years, Baillie Gifford had a distinctive approach by sponsoring a wide range of festivals across the nation.
Razvi expresses concern about the negative impact of the company’s investment management criticism on the corporate sponsorship world and its potential consequences for associations with the arts or book festivals.
When sponsors are perceived as lacking ethics, there is a potential for authors to refuse participation in events, as demonstrated by the actions of several FFB supporters at this year’s Hay festival, which ultimately led to the termination of the sponsorship deal. According to Culture Unstained, a campaign group advocating for cultural organisations to sever ties with fossil fuels, literary festivals are currently confronted with a “dual challenge” as they rely on authors to participate in their events. In addition to navigating a challenging economic landscape, they also face the task of securing funding amidst a shift in the sector’s perspective on ethical sponsorship.
What does ‘ethical’ mean in today’s context? “I think that’s an intriguing question,” remarks Syima Aslam, the founder of the Bradford literature festival. While the festival had Baillie Gifford sponsorship in the past, it did not receive it this year. She notes that Baillie Gifford had been sponsoring festivals for a long time before authors began voicing their criticisms, indicating a change in the situation. After climate activist Greta Thunberg decided not to attend the Baillie Gifford-sponsored Edinburgh international book festival in August 2023, FFB was established.
It seems that a shift has occurred where something that was once highly regarded is no longer held in the same esteem. And how will that change once more?” Aslam enquires. “Will the parameters change?”
In an interview earlier this year, four organisers of FFB expressed their disappointment with the outcome of their campaign. They had hoped for Baillie Gifford to continue sponsoring festivals, but that did not happen. Their campaign sought to persuade Baillie Gifford to cease managing investments associated with fossil fuels and Israel. Despite this, Guy Gunaratne, an FFB organiser, expressed the belief that the conclusion of Baillie Gifford’s sponsorship could be a significant turning point for the funding of book festivals. According to Jessica Gaitán Johannesson, another organiser, the group aims to engage in ongoing discussions with festivals and contribute to the shift towards a more sustainable model.
FFB has expressed appreciation for festivals run by neighbourhood businesses, such as the three independent bookshops that run Edinburgh’s Book Fringe. According to festival organisers, securing local sponsorships for festivals has become increasingly challenging.
After losing Baillie Gifford’s funding, which accounted for about half of its sponsorship revenue, the Stratford festival is now seeking support from local sponsors. Ashworth expects that they will need to find multiple sponsors who are willing to contribute smaller amounts of money. However, the likelihood of securing a long-term commitment like the one they had from Baillie Gifford is very low.
The FFB believes that receiving more support from publishing houses could be a promising solution. They have already started reaching out to publishers and have achieved some success. For instance, thanks to a letter from an FFB organiser to a senior member of the management team, Bloomsbury generously donated £100,000 to the festivals that Baillie Gifford had previously sponsored last month.
However, one-time donations will not ensure the continuation of many of these festivals. Sofia Akel, the organiser of the Free Books Festival, a completely free literary festival in London that relies on sponsorship and donations, says publishers should allocate funding space in their budgets to make reading and festivals accessible.
Razvi agrees that there should be a “significant” talk with publishers about the value festivals provide “in helping build their authors, in helping sell their books,” and whether there is anything further they can do.
Then there’s the chance of government funding. A portion of the additional £100 million the Scottish government has agreed to spend annually on the arts by 2028/29 will go to Scottish festivals, although the exact amount has yet to be determined, and no more funding has been guaranteed for the rest of the UK. Cathy Moore, CEO of the Cambridge Literary Festival, describes current arts financing as “woefully inadequate.”. “We remain cautiously hopeful that with a new government, we will become a country where art and culture are more highly valued as a vital part of personal and community enrichment and funded appropriately.”
Though Razvi believes that FFB’s campaign “hasn’t really achieved an outcome that will be positive for the sector and positive for giving a voice to these issues,” FFB is pleased to have demonstrated that literary festival investors “can’t get away with profiting from finance that is killing people and the planet.” The association anticipates that literary festivals “will scrutinise their funders more now.”.
“Alternatives do exist,” states Culture Unstained. Sponsors with a “genuine commitment to the arts” are expected to respond to new ethical requirements, the organisation argues.
“There are collective things that festivals can think about, but actually, each festival has its own trajectory, and how people will navigate moving forward from here will very much depend on that historical pathway and the parameters in which they are now operating,” Aslam explained. “So it’s going to be an interesting couple of years as we work these challenges out.”