Cathedral flower festival marks 30th anniversary

A flower show at a cathedral in West Sussex is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

There are over 60 floral installations on display at the biennial Festival of Flowers at Chichester Cathedral from Wednesday until Saturday.

This year's festival theme is focused on "nature's embrace" with 50,000 blooms filling the space around the 950-year-old cathedral.

Caroline Daines, lead designer, said: "I'm super excited and absolutely thrilled with everyone's efforts. To see my vision come to life has been the most amazing journey."

She added there had been "a few" sleepless nights, but they had "such a supportive network of team members and volunteers".

"We had a massive lorry turn up on Sunday, 50,000 stems came through the cathedral door," she said.

"You have to think big, you have to be brave and think about all the mechanics underneath the designs very carefully."

Since its beginnings in 1996 the Festival of Flowers has raised over £1.4m for the cathedral.

The festival attracts visitors from across the UK to experience its "breathtaking displays" and the cathedral "reimagined through flowers".

For the first time, the festival will extend beyond the cathedral walls through Chichester in Bloom, a new city-wide initiative.

More than 15 city centre businesses are transforming their shop fronts with bespoke floral installations.

A range of stalls will be in place within the cathedral's 600 year-old cloisters, offering products from a range of Sussex-based suppliers.

These range from handcrafted floral arrangements to local wine and produce.

The festival plant market returns to Chichester after a four-year hiatus.

Alison George, director of fundraising for Chichester Cathedral Trust, said: "It's about 18 months of planning to get to this stage, but everything happens in a quick, quick time.

"Visitors will be blown away by the arrangements, it's a sensory thrill."

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