Gosport Waterfront Community Festival (GWCF) was first launched by Gosport Borough Council in 1999, It was taken over in 2000 as a community event led by local people who are passionate about using music and the arts as a tool to unite the local community and ensure everyone has an opportunity to develop and express their creativity whether as a performer, workshop participant or audience member.

GWCF is an annual three-day music festival held in the heart of the borough of Gosport.

 

As Gosport is recognised as one of the most deprived towns in Hampshire, the primary aim of the festival is to be affordable and inclusive, making music and other arts accessible to all people. We recognise that investing in local artists and creative activities helps to improve life outcomes whilst also connecting people, supporting the local economy and regenerating neighbourhoods. However, this is only successful if there is a shared commitment to removing the geographic, economic and social barriers that currently prevent many people from taking part in publicly funded cultural activity, which is why we are committed to keeping GWCF affordable for the people of Gosport and surrounding areas. Our inclusive family friendly festival ethos remains a key priority and has been successful in attracting people of all ages and backgrounds to date.

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GWCF features well known headline acts as well as showcasing local talent. Local musicians have the opportunity to perform across the three days. We feature all types of music in the community and from all types of musicians, no one is excluded from taking part.

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We have and continue to build, strong relationships across the community in a bid to create a community hub within the festival allowing other charities to attend and promote their projects.

We want Gosport to be recognised as a cultural community and to invest in local artists and creative activities for the benefit of our local residents. Our long term goal, alongside continuing to grow the annual festival, is to open a music and dance studio that is affordable for local artist. Our aim for the studio is to provide cultural opportunities for the most marginalised members of the Gosport community including those with physical and mental disabilities, young people not in education, employment or training, ex-offenders and recovering addicts.

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The Covid19 pandemic has meant that GWCF has had to pause activity for the past two years. It is nationally recognised that the pandemic has had significant social impact on people, especially young people and those who are socially isolated. This year’s festival is more important than ever as we are able to connect the people of Gosport and enable them to reintegrate into their local community in a safe environment. For some, especially local young people, this is the first opportunity they have had to publicly access the arts and take part in cultural activities.

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GWCF is delivered in collaboration with the community of Gosport and we are passionate about empowering local people to be involved going forward.

 

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