Family fun, music and thrilling entertainment were the things the people of Coventry were promised from the Godiva Festival this year – organisers claimed it would be the best yet. And it most definitely delivered. The weather held out, so even in the unlikely event of not being satisfied with what was on offer, just sitting in the Memorial Park soaking up the sun and atmosphere would have been fulfilment in itself.  | | Crowds at the Godiva Festival |
Every age group and taste was catered for by the six tents which had a tight schedule of entertainment including live bands and comedy. Music lovers were well catered for – with plenty of reggae, classical, folk, hip hop and acoustic. The schedule was well planned with the performances in the Arena and Fool’s Paradise tent repeated so that nothing was missed. The festival certainly drew big crowds and towards the late afternoon the park was packed full of people and the customary festival litter although such a late crowd meant that the live bands/artists that played earlier in the day did not get the credit and recognition that they deserved. On the other hand, the main acts got plenty of support with the Electric Tent filling its 2250 maximum capacity with more queuing outside hoping to catch at least one song by The Fratellis, The Copper Temple Clause and Mercury Rev. They all put on a fantastic set and really fired up the crowd and although Nizlopi consists of just two talented guys their performance was very samey and seemed to disrupt the stream of brilliant bands the crowd longed for.  | | A stunt car |
Another crowd pleaser was Terry Grant’s Stunt Drive Academy in the Arena. They performed an impressive stunt show with a comedic twist (which involved them using a remote control to power the Nissan 200SX). All in all the festival was a huge success, thanks to the constant entertainment that was on offer. It was a great promotional platform for local bands and boasted plenty of the talent that the city has to offer. Roll on next year! | 
