Christian Stars Grace Thousands as Greenbelt Wraps Up

|TOP|The Greenbelt Festival wrapped up yesterday at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, with an extensive line-up of the most popular Christian artists and entertainers.

Former Iraq hostage and peace activist Norman Kember, a long-time ‘Greenbelter’ himself, made a return to the festival this year to share his story through an interview.

Oscar winner Nick Park also appeared at the event in a year in which he won many awards for his latest Aardman feature-length film, ‘Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit’. Park helped Greenbelt judge video shorts made by young people over the weekend for DFID (The Department of International Development) on aid effectiveness.

In addition to Kember and Park, poet Laureate Andrew Motion, US political activist Jim Wallis, human rights lawyer and head of Reprieve Clive Stafford-Smith, and performance artist and ex-KLF man Bill Drummond performed on stage at Greenbelt.

UK pop star Daniel Bedingfield, who also graced the stage in Greenbelt, commented: "This [festival] is full of phenomenal examples of people of faith, people of belief, making music in the world."

|AD|Featured speakers included World Vision’s Director of Advocacy Rudo Kwaramba, Japanese reconciliation worker Keiko Holmes, and UK-based race and justice campaigner Bev Thomas. Contributions from Iona community leaders Kathy Galloway and John Bell, theologians Timothy Radcliffe and James Allison and Walter Wink, MPs Stephen Timms and Alistair Carmichael, and renowned bishops were included.

Festival Director, Beki Bateson, said: “We’ve probably not had such a strong and diverse speaker line-up ever before at Greenbelt and I am delighted at the sheer variety of voices contributing. I am sure that many people will take great inspiration from all that they hear at this year’s Festival – whether from a Christian faith perspective or not. There really is something for everyone.”

Greenbelt 06 was held 25 to 28 August 2006, with the theme ‘Redemption Songs’. Last year, Greenbelt came to a close with over 18,000 people attending the festival, which carried the theme ‘Tree of Life’.

For more information, go to www.greenbelt.org.uk.