Godiva hailed the 'best value' festival at 25

The Enemy was one of the headline acts at the Godiva Festival in 2023

The Godiva Festival in Coventry is the "best value festival of its type" as it celebrates its 25th year, according to its current director.

The annual event will take place at the War Memorial Park in the city from Friday until Sunday.

About 69,000 people attended last year's festival with Richard Ashcroft, Paloma Faith, Beverley Knight all set to headline this year's three-day festival.

Jon Hogan, current festival director, described the annual event as the "icing on the cake" of what was "going on under the surface of the city".

The Godiva Festival, was "by the city for the city with the city - and that's what makes it unique," Mr Hogan said.

"I still maintain that Godiva is the best value festival of its type," he said.

"There is no promoter walking away with a profit from this. The council doesn't make a profit. We bring the cost down as much as we can to cover the overheads and that's just about it."

He and other previous directors of the festival spoke to BBC Radio CWR to mark the 25th year of the event and you can hear their stories all week on air.

Named after Coventry's famous story of Lady Godiva, the festival started as a free day-long event in 1997 and became a three-day event the following year.

Crowds enjoyed The Enemy's performance last year

Alongside concerts, the council-run family festival features crafts and sports such as archery, football and badminton as well as a have-a-go circus, dance and street performers and fashion shows.

Other acts set to perform at the 25th celebrations include Sam Ryder, Lady Leshurr, The Primitives and Holy Goof.

Previous years have seen headline acts such as The Enemy, Tom Grennan, Sir Bob Geldof, The Libertines and Rudimental.

Previous festival directors Mick Emerson, left, Lee House and current director Jon Hogan

Previously a free, ticketless festival, Godiva became a ticketed event when charges were introduced in 2019.

A council report in 2023 claimed the festival could become more "commercially focused" and command higher ticket prices if planned cuts at the local authority went ahead.

Mick Emerson, a previous director of the event, said the festival was “completely different to how it is now” when it first began.

“It wasn't in this field for a start," he said.

"Some of it was in the boating lake although at the time we didn't know it was a boating lake and we kind of found out when it rained and we had a lake in the tent."

The first couple of years of the festival were “OK” he added before they started getting “really good numbers” in the third year.

Lee House, another former festival director, said it had once got organisers “into trouble” for “spoiling the kids exams” in June because of noise concerns.

Gabrielle performed at the event in War Memorial Park in 2018

People had "grown up" with Godiva, Mr Hogan said.

"There are young people in the city who haven't known not having a Godiva. It's part of folkore.

"The public are our biggest loyalty and supporters for the festival because as I say, without them we're just stood in a field making noise."

While Ms House said: "It's always been very, very Coventry-centric, about the people of the city and for the people of the city and celebrating the community.

"I don't think it could be replicated anywhere else other than Coventry."

About 69,000 people attended the festival last year

Godiva was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic before returning a year later.

Rock band The Enemy, who are originally from the city, headlined the main stage in 2023, 15 years after their last performance around the release of their number one album.

Pete Chambers, Coventry Music Museum founder, said his own "favourite moment" of the festival was when he had a backstage pass and was "lucky to be there on the stage" when the band performed.

"It was just wonderful and we were all standing there by the amps and it was like 'wow, this is real rock 'n' roll'. There were special songs played, everyone singing along, that was great for me," he said.

Huge Coventry City FC fan, Tom Grennan, who headlined in 2022, was another festival highlight.

“I was worried because he was performing at the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend here in the park,” Mr Hogan explained.

“He just captured the hearts and minds [of the audience] and has become almost an honorary son of Coventry."

Family activities at the festival include circus, dance and street performers

Speaking of some of the previous artists at the event, Ms House said they had had “such fun” and "so many laughs" with some of the requests included on artists' riders - the documents setting out their requirements for performing.

“We've gone from some of the very strange riders that we used to get to now, people are very health conscious and they want their houmous and they want their crackers and they want the nice things," she said.

This year's Godiva Festival takes place from 5 to 7 July at the War Memorial Park

As far as strange requests go, electronic music group 808 State wanted two Rubik’s Cubes, so Mr Emerson said he "had to send someone off to Toys R Us to get one."

“I just thought 'if they want it, I'm going to get it. I don't care how stupid it is, I will get them that'," he added.