The Godiva Festival is a three-day music festival held each year in the War Memorial Park,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, named after the city's famous former inhabitant

Lady Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...

. It first appeared as a day-long event in 1997 and became a 3-day event the following year in 1998. It is the largest family music festival in the UK, and is made up of two fields; a Main Field and a Family field, which each offer a different experience.

Format

The modern three-day

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

is a non-profit making event organised by

Coventry City Council Coventry City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Coventry in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. Coventry ...

. The festival attracted 148,000 visits in 2016 to a site in Coventry's War Memorial Park. The festival includes a dedicated Main Stage which has played host to a wide array of mainstream and independent acts, including

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...

Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals), and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have r ...

, The Charlatans,

The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...

Scouting For Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voca ...

The Wombats The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003, consisting of Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, backing vocals, keyboards), and Dan Haggis (drums, backing vocals, keyboards). ...

, Don Broco,

Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...

Fun Lovin' Criminals Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backin ...

, the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

, the

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

and The Enemy. The other large stage on the Main Field is the Rock/Rhythm Tent, which plays host to rock/metal acts on Friday night, and has seen artists such as

Neck Deep Neck Deep are a Welsh pop punk band from Wrexham, Wales formed in 2012. Founded after vocalist Ben Barlow met former lead guitarist Lloyd Roberts, the pair posted a song ("What Did You Expect?") online under the name Neck Deep. The song soon ga ...

Slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and

Kids in Glass Houses Kids in Glass Houses are a Welsh rock band from Cardiff. The band's name was inspired by the lyrics "not throwing stones at you anymore" from the Glassjaw song "Tip Your Bartender". The band achieved success on the strength of the singles " Gi ...

perform since its introduction in 2014. Saturday's Rhythm Tent has seen acts such as

Fuse ODG Nana Richard Abiona (born 2 December 1988), better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "Antenna" and " Dangerous Love", and for featuring on Major Lazer's " Light It Up ...

, JME,

Big Narstie Tyrone Mark Lindo (born 16 November 1985), known by his stage name Big Narstie, is a British MC, author, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and television presenter. He started his career in 2002 as a member of grime crew "N Double A," though ...

and D Double E. Other features of the festival include the Family Field, an Acoustic Stage, a Paradise Tent, food stalls, a Hilltop bar, craft stalls, an Urban Youth Tent, a vintage market and a fairground. The Family Field often sees attractions such as a petting farm, charity village, Community Stage, Lives and Times area, Greenspace area, Make Space tent, a funfair, cycle training, falconry and visits from local groups such as the

Coventry Bears The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club jointly based in Birmingham and Coventry, West Midlands, England. They were founded as the Coventry Bears in 1998 and entered the third tier of the British rugby league system, ...

and the

Fire Service A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

. Godiva Festival was a free, ticketless festival, that anyone can attend, until ticketing and charges were introduced in 2019. In 2019 the capacity of the festival was 40,000.

Line ups

2023

The 2023 festival will take place from 30 June to 2 July.

2022

The 2022 festival took place from 2 to 4 September, to avoid a clash with BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. The headline acts were announced in April 2022,

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

played the Friday slot,

Tom Grennan Thomas Grennan (born 8 June 1995) is an English singer and songwriter from Bedford and is based in London. Grennan found fame as the guest vocalist on Chase & Status's " All Goes Wrong" in 2016. His debut album, '' Lighting Matches'', was rel ...

on Saturday and

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

headlined on Sunday.

2021

The 2021 festival took place from 3 to 5 September, but with a limited capacity because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Saturday night headline was announced on 26 July 2021 as

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta), Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger (UK band), Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ' ...

who would be performing his TS5 DJ Set. The headline act for the final day of the festival was announced as

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

, with

Fun Lovin Criminals Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backin ...

and

David Rodigan David Michael "Ram Jam" Rodigan MBE OD (born 24 June 1951) is a British radio DJ who also performs as a disc jockey. Known for his selections of reggae and dancehall music, he has played on stations including Radio London, Capital 95.8, Kiss ...

also appearing. Another performer for the Saturday was announced on 5 August 2021,

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...

2020

The 2020 festival was announced as taking place from 3 to 5 July, but was cancelled in March 2020 as a result of the

2019

The 2019 festival took place from 5 to 7 July. The first act to be announced was Busted who headlined on the closing day of the festival. Subsequently, Brighton based folk-rock band

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...

have been confirmed as headlining on the opening night (Friday). as well as Frank Iero and the Future Violents in the Rock & Rhythm tent. The Saturday headline act was announced as Welsh rock band Feeder. Cornflakes at Kelly's, a local Coventry punk band also performed their festival debut, on the main stage on Saturday too.

2018

The 2018 festival confirmed in February that it would take place from 31 August to 2 September.

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

was announced, in March 2018, as the Sunday headline act. A Saturday main stage act was announced at the end of April 2018 as Gabrielle. Other acts announced for the Saturday were

Professor Green Stephen Paul Manderson (born 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green or simply Pro Green, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, television personality and mental health activist from London. Growing up on ...

Jonas Blue Guy James Robin (born 2 August 1989), known professionally as Jonas Blue, is an English DJ, record producer, songwriter, and remixer based in London. He is known for recruiting young artists for his dance-pop and tropical house productions, wh ...

Blood Red Shoes Blood Red Shoes are an English alternative rock duo from Brighton consisting of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. They have released six full-length albums, '' Box of Secrets'' (2008), '' Fire Like This'' (2010), '' In Time to Voices'' (2012), ...

and

Little Comets Little Comets are an English indie rock trio from Jarrow and Washington, Tyne and Wear. They are described as playing "kitchen sink indie" music. In early 2009 the band were signed to Columbia Records following numerous gigs in strange locati ...

. The Friday night headliner was announced in June 2018 as

Jake Bugg Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, ''Jake Bugg'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 2012 and reached numb ...

, at the same time

Rae Morris Rachel Anne "Rae" Morris (born 2 September 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut album, '' Unguarded'', in 2015. Her second album, '' Someone Out There'', was released in January 2018. Early life Morris was born in B ...

and

Kyle Falconer Kyle Francis Falconer (born 6 June 1987) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of The View. Along with the other band members, Falconer hails from the Dryburgh district of Dundee. He shares songw ...

were announced as performers in the Rhythm Tent on the Saturday. As the end of July 2018

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

were announced as the Saturday headline act on the main stage.

2017

Godiva Festival 2017 was confirmed in January 2017 for 7–9 July, and took place in the War Memorial Park. On 8 February 2017, The Darkness was announced as the Sunday headline act. On 20 February 2017,

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...

were confirmed as the Friday night headline act.

2016

Coventry Godiva Festival 2016 was confirmed in January 2016, and took place on 1–3 July in the War Memorial Park. The Friday night headline was the Boomtown Rats supported by

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

. The Saturday headline was The Charlatans supported by

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...

. The Sunday headline was

Scouting for Girls Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook ''Scouting for Boys''. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on piano and lead guitar/voca ...

, who were supported by

The Pigeon Detectives The Pigeon Detectives are an English indie rock band from Rothwell in Leeds, West Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. The band have released five albums from 2007 to present. They performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2006, where they we ...

. The weekend saw Godiva Festival visited over 148,000 times and was the most successful festival to date.

2015

The 2015 Godiva Festival took place from 3 to 5 July. The headline act for Friday was

, Saturday

and Sunday

2014

The 2014 Godiva Festival took place from 4 to 6 July. The headline act was the

2013

The 2013 Godiva Festival took place from 5 to 7 July 2013. Friday was headlined by Echo & the Bunnymen who were to headline in the 2012 cancelled event. Saturday was headlined by

Maxïmo Park Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: '' A Certain Trigge ...

and Sunday starred the

Loveable Rogues The Loveable Rogues were a British band from London, consisting of members Sonny Jay, Eddie Brett and Te Qhairo Eugene, who rose to fame after reaching the final of the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2012. Career 2010–12: ''Brit ...

and

Amelia Lily Amelia Lily Oliver (born 16 October 1994) is an English singer and television personality. In 2011, she became a finalist on the eighth series of ''The X Factor'', where she finished in third place. In 2017, she finished as runner-up on the t ...

. The festival claimed to have broken attendance records with over 125,000 visits being estimated over the three days.

2012

The 2012 festival was scheduled to take place Friday 30 June to Sunday 1 July, but bad weather forced the event to be cancelled. Friday was scheduled to be headlined by Echo & the Bunnymen with

in support. Saturday was scheduled with

Cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

as headliners, with support from The View and

. Sunday evening was scheduled to link in with the arrival of the

Olympic Torch Relay The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was first performed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, and has taken place prior to every Games since. Although in the pa ...

and the lighting of the Olympic Beacon in the park. The festival was cancelled by Coventry City Council on 29 June 2012, owing to the recent 'bad weather conditions causing unstable ground'. The Olympic Torch procession continued unaffected.

2011

The 2011 Godiva Festival took place from Friday 1 July to Sunday 3 July. The headline acts were

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), an ...

and

Athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

, attended by a record breaking crowd of 120,000 people.

2010

The 2010 Godiva Festival took place from Friday 2 July to Sunday 4 July.

2009

The 2009 Godiva Festival took place from Friday 3 July to Sunday 5 July, headlined by Scottish alternative band Idlewild.

2008

The 2008 Godiva Festival took place from Friday 4 July to Sunday 6 July, headlined by the Coventry band The Enemy.

2007

Kristy Gallacher on the Market Stage at Godiva Festival Coventry ENGLAND July 2007

The 2007 Godiva Festival took place from Friday 13 July to Sunday 15 July with headliners

Super Furry Animals Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian Ciaran ...

. It was also the 10th year for the festival.

2006

The 2006 festival took take place from Friday 14 July to Sunday 16 July with headliners

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi ( fa, شاپرک خرسندی, born 8 June 1973), formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family le ...

. Also on the Friday night

Nerina Pallot Nerina Natasha Georgina Pallot (born 26 April 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and producer, who has released six albums and over a dozen EPs. She was nominated for British Female Solo Artist at the 2007 BRIT Awards and nominated for an I ...

performed and

John Burnside John Burnside FRSL FRSE (born 19 March 1955) is a Scottish writer. He is one of only three poets (the others being Ted Hughes and Sean O'Brien) to have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book (''Black C ...

recited poetry. On Saturday the main stage lineup was: *

Hundred Reasons Hundred Reasons are an English alternative rock band from Aldershot, Hampshire, and Teddington, South West London, formed in 1999. The band consists of Colin Doran (vocals), Larry Hibbitt (guitar, vocals), Andy Gilmour (bass) and Andy Bews (drum ...

* The Others *

Little Barrie Little Barrie is an English rock group consisting of Barrie Cadogan (vocals, guitar) and Lewis Wharton (bass, vocals). Virgil Howe contributed drums and vocals from 2007 until his death in 2017. Their sound has drawn from a mixture of influenc ...

The Paddingtons The Paddingtons are an English indie rock band from Hull. Between April 2005 and 9 November 2006, they played over 150 live shows, including venues such as Trent Park Golf Club, The Square, Harlow; Jersey Live; Summercase; The Underground ...

* Kid Carpet *

Dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

Whilst EcoRhythm consisted of: *

Blak Twang Blak Twang (born Tony Olabode in England), who also uses the pseudonyms Taipanic and Tony Rotton, is a British rapper who grew up in Deptford, Lewisham, South-East London. Blak Twang is world-renowned for his live performances, and is also resp ...

Skinnyman Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British rapper who was born in Chapeltown Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate. Among his ...

Yungun Yungun (a.k.a. Essa) is a British hip hop artist. He released his debut album ''The Essance'' on Janomi Records in 2004. He was born in North London where he currently works and resides. Bio He was educated at Eton College. He began his musi ...

Mr Thing Mr Thing is a British hip hop producer. He is a former member of the Scratch Perverts.Cordor, CyrilMr. Thing Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-06-19 He has worked with such artists as Yungun, Doc Brown and Devise. Mr Thing was also the winne ...

2004

The 2004 festival took place Friday 11 June to Sunday 13 June The Saturday night main stage line up was: *

The Datsuns The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 1998. Founding mainstays are Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, and Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell, both on guitar. They have released seven albu ...

Goldie Lookin Chain Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpo ...

* Young Heart Attack *

2003

The 2003 festival took place Friday 6 June to Sunday 8 June. The Saturday night main stage lineup included: *

Shed Seven Shed Seven are a alternative rock band, formed in York in 1990. One of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene of the 1990s, they continue to write, record and release music over thirty years later. They originally comprised sin ...

Har Mar Superstar Sean Tillmann (born February 6, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has performed and released studio albums as Sean Na Na and as a member of hardcore band Calvin Krime, but is best known for his work under the name Har Mar Super ...

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80s Matchbox, TEMBD, TEMBLD or shortened to just Eighties or 80s) were an English rock band from Brighton, formed in 1999. They released three albums, '' Hörse of t ...

2002

The 2002 festival took place Friday 7 June to Sunday 9 June. It was the fifth year the festival had taken place. Bands who played include: *

Six by Seven Six by Seven (also written as SIX.BY SEVEN or six.by seven or six.byseven) are an English indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Nottingham. The classic lineup of the band featured singer/guitarist Chris Olley, guitarist Sam Hempton, drummer Chri ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

1998

The second Godiva Festival was held on Friday 5 - Sunday 7 June 1998.
Main stage headline acts on the two weekend days were

Banco de Gaia Banco de Gaia is an English electronic music project, formed in 1989 by Toby Marks (born 1964, South London, England). The music of Banco de Gaia is mostly categorized as ambient dub and downtempo. Marks works to cross genres, often using Ar ...

and Silinder Pardesi respectively.

References

External links

Godiva Festival (official site)

Godiva Festival on eFestivals

Coventry City Council
{{coord, 52.390132, -1.523113, display=title Music in Coventry Music festivals in the West Midlands (county) Music festivals established in 2002