The Best of the Festival

'As Brighton Festival’s Guest Director for 2025, what an honour it is to find myself at the helm of an institution that seeks, year on year, to celebrate boldness, diversity, and connection. Brighton has long held a special place in my heart—it’s a city where difference holds value, where art forms collide and cross-pollinate freely, where the promise of transformation is made reality. To be curating the programme feels like an extraordinary opportunity to take part in the uplifting creative energy of this city.  

For 2025, we look towards a New Dawn. Together with the wonderful people on the Brighton Festival team, I’ve been shaping a programme that envisions a hopeful future - an emergence from the dark of night into the glow of early morning.'

Anoushka Shankar, Brighton Festival Guest Director 2025