A festival which has welcomed the likes of Sir John Major and Alastair Campbell will almost certainly not go ahead this summer.

Kite Festival at Kirtlington Park near Kidlington launched in 2022 and was also staged last year.

It has attracted some well-known bands including The Pretenders, Suede and Hot Chip, as well as high-profile speakers such as former Prime Minister Sir John Major and Susanna Hoffs, former singer in 80s band The Bangles.

This year's festival was due to take place from June 7-9 but it now looks unlikely it will go ahead.

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No line-up has been announced yet and a spokeswoman for Borkowski, the public relations agency helping to promote the event, said it was "very unlikely" to happen in 2024.

No official announcement has yet been made and she said festival organisers would release a statement later this month.

Oxford Mail: Kite FestivalThe first indication that Kite might not be going ahead came in Oxford's music magazine Nightshift.

Editor Ronan Munro wrote: "It looks increasingly unlikely that Kite Festival will be returning this summer.

"The festival of music and ideas, which launched two years ago at Kirtlington Country Park, had previously announced that it was due to return over the weekend of June 7-9 but since then no acts have been announced and no tickets have gone on sale."

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Kite is not just a music festival as it also attracts well-known personalities from the worlds of politics, comedy, media, TV and literature.

Oxford Mail: Suede at KiteLast year, Sir John Major, comic and writer David Baddiel, political spin doctor Alastair Campbell, and the the Chancellor of Oxford University Chris Patten gave talks in big top tents across the park site.

And there were also appearances by Alison Goldfrapp, Baxter Dury, Dame Joan Collins, presenter Mel Giedroyc, Bake Off star Prue Leith, Happy Valley writer Sally Wainwright and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Kirtlington and Kidlington North county councillor Nigel Simpson said he had been told the festival would not go ahead this year.

He said: "My understanding is there will be no Kite Festival this year and they are now aiming for next year.

Oxford Mail: An audience at Kite Festival"Kirtlington Parish Council has been informed that they are looking at 2025.

"It's a shame because the festival was just gathering momentum and getting some big names in.

"I would like to see Kite come back next year - people living in the village got discounted tickets and I think the parish council will look at how Kirtlington itself could benefit more in future from having lots of people around.

"Festival goers could be encouraged to use the pubs in the village."

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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