Organisers of Cornbury Festival have announced that next year’s event will be their last. The 14th and final Festival will be staged at The Great Tew Park in Oxfordshire from Friday 7th July to Sunday 9th July 2017. ‘We’ve had a fantastic run over the last 13 years and are very proud of the lovely event we’ve created’ says Festival Director Hugh Phillimore: ‘We’ve hosted a marvellous annual party for our loyal audience – the odd royal, multigenerational families, aristocracy, Prime Ministers, film stars, farmers, rockers, and ladies who make exceedingly good cakes. We have found ourselves in the centre of a wonderful community and are proud that we’ve been able to benefit many local causes over the years.’   Nicknamed ‘Poshstock’, England’s most upmarket festival, Cornbury, has featured many brilliant performers over the last 13 years – Joe Cocker, Amy Winehouse, Robert Plant, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Crowded House, Blondie, Hugh Laurie, Georgie Fame and the much-missed Humphrey Lyttelton amongst many others.   The festival has gained a reputation for its unique and friendly atmosphere and beautiful Cotswold location, and is critically praised as ‘England’s Most Elegant Gathering’.   Cornbury Music Festival is on target to deliver the best ever line up for its final festival with the signing of international superstar Bryan Adams as headline act on Saturday 8 July 2017. Getting Adams to agree to play his only UK Festival in 2017 is quite a coup for Festival Director Hugh and, on a personal level, fulfills a long term ambition: ‘Ever since I saw an awesome performance at Wembley way back, I’ve been trying to bag a show with Bryan – pestering him for over 20 years. We’re all very excited that he has agreed to join us for our Finale It will definitely be worth the wait.’   “What distinguishes the Cornbury Music Festivals is the effort made to enjoy time in the countryside but with decent facilities, drink and refreshments, proper guidance as to what is happening and general comfort. Nobody can truly enjoy performances or music or comedy when they are roughing it – especially with younger family members aboard. However, the heart of the whole enterprise is the wide variety of quality acts lined up. Whether an act is brand new on the scene or long-established, Cornbury is where they can be heard to best effect. To illustrate this, the 2015 set by the mighty Trevor Horn Band was as fine a slice of pop-rock as any fan could wish for, topped up by the appearance of SEAL. As the song goes, ‘memories are made of this’… – Pete Sargeant of Just Listen To This   Saturday day tickets along with weekend tickets will be available in all formats from 9am on Thursday 1st December 2016. To book tickets and for more information go to cornburymusicfestival.com. Local festival fans can avoid booking charges by buying their tickets direct from Chipping Norton Theatre box office.   ‘We’re going out with a bang’ says Hugh. ‘I can’t wait to celebrate with friends old and new. Don’t miss out on this last chance to join us for our Fabulous Finale.’  Glenn Sargeant