The Cheltenham literature festival is arguably the biggest event that occurs in the city annually. People travel from all other Britain to hear people promote and talk about their books and experiences. The question remains however, are they going for the content or just to meet their favourite celebrity? We travelled to Cheltenham literature festival to answer this question.
Amidst the chaotic flurry of avid readers, festival staff, and food vendors we managed to talk to a select few to inquire about the reason for which they had attended the festival. Steven Clark, who was one of the festival staff, believed that the largest appeal came from the celebrities headlining the event. He said that because a lot of celebrities sign their books afterwards, the appeal of meeting one’s idols was “very popular”.
Contrarily, festival attendee Elizabeth Jawn, quickly said “Well I certainly don’t need to meet the celebrities. I’m a reader and am here mainly for the content.” Before going on to say that she was here to see authors of upcoming books she wished to read – but only for the books themselves.
However fellow attendee Laura Haywood argued that both factors appealed to her equally. Saying that “It’s sort of a mix of both. I think it’s exciting seeing someone you know of the TV, but also these people have done loads of interesting things in their lives, so it’s interesting to hear some of those things as well.
Overall, the truth seems to be somewhere in the middle, people are drawn to both the appeal of the celebrity as an individual, as well as their content and interesting stories. In a way the two reasons coexist, without both together, perhaps Cheltenham Literature Festival would not be as popular as it always is.
By Alfie Smith
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