16,000 Gather for Greenbelt '07

Up to 16,000 people have gathered at Cheltenham Racecourse as the Greenbelt Festival takes place over the Bank Holiday weekend.

|PIC1|This year's festival, given the theme 'Heaven in Ordinary', sees an "eclectic mix of music, film, visual arts, comedy, worship and speakers".

Development Manager Paul Northup said as the event kicked off: "There's something for everyone - and the sunshine too. It's going to be a 'belter'.

"Thousands of people area already soaking up heaven in a weekend."

Billy Bragg, headlined the event on the opening evening, and set the scene for a weekend of talented performance that organisers are saying "goes beyond ordinary entertainment".

He rounded off the first day's festivities with a headline set on the Main Stage, in which he showcased new songs from his forthcoming album as well as crowd favourites such as A New England and even a cover of a Carpenters' song.

In one of his new songs, entitled I Keep Faith, Bragg expressed his belief that music inspires both audience and performer alike.

"There's more of them than there is of me", he said referring to the potential of the audience to make a change rather than musicians and activists alone, "they can change the world not me".

Bragg expressed his admiration for the activist aspect of Christianity, which has come to be a major plank of the Greenbelt Festival. The well-known socialist campaigner expressed his belief that cynicism, rather than capitalism or conservatism, was the greatest enemy of all those who tried to improve the world, and that "faith is the only antidote".

As well as performing, Bragg also talked about nationality and "Britishness", issues at the heart of his recent book, The Progressive Patriot, and, in a separate talk on Saturday, set forth his vision for a British Bill of Rights.

"A Bill of Rights would bind us together as individuals. Britishness is about belonging, not excluding," he said.

Also on Saturday Christian Aid used a futuristic method to bring home to Festival-goers the impact climate change is having on the world's poorest communities.

The 34th Greenbelt Festival, gathered thousands to a vigil on Saturday evening to reflect on how ordinary individuals working together can impact climate change.

"We're not done with Trade Justice, but that's precisely why we're emphasising environmental issues," Susan Berry of Christian Aid said.

"Trade justice and climate change are intimately connected. We have had some important wins in the Trade Justice campaign but we are concerned that climate change may undermine some of the progress."

Among the entertainment laid on by the charity was a sandpit for children, providing both a play area but also driving home the message that climate change is turning many homelands into deserts.

Festival-goers are also being encouraged to play their part in tackling the issues, from buying fair trade shoelaces to changing their energy supplier.

"We've had a fantastic response," Ms Berry said. "It's been really buzzing today."

There was entertainment of a different kind elsewhere on site. The No Nonsense Theatre Company performed their radical interpretation of Romeo and Juliet.

Drawing on Shakespeare's text as an inspiration, the company used puppetry, clowning, visual theatre and live music to breathe new life into the story and make it as accessible as possible.

"It's our first time at Greenbelt," co-artistic director Liz Fitzgerald-Taylor said. "It's been a great opportunity to not only perform to a wide range of ages but also to people who don't necessarily come to the theatre. We've loved it - and so have the audiences."

To provide a different atmosphere, this year Greenbelt is joined all weekend by the Bassline circus.

"Bassline are no ordinary clowns", a Greenbelt press release says, "this alternative circus troupe are a mixture of beat bopping dance moves, spectacular trapeze manoeuvres and artistic graffiti".

Greenbelt '07 has interfaith items throughout the weekend, with one of the highlights being Mona Siddiqui and Marc Ellis who will be taking part in Sunday's "Can we Coexist?" panel, where leading Muslim, Jewish and Christian theologians explore the prospect for peace in the new millennium.