The Festival
The Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama is one of the oldest, largest and most celebrated festivals in the UK. The 2026 festival will take place from 7th to 14th March at the Bedford Corn Exchange, Harpur Suite, Howard Room and Kings House. The event will welcome over 3,000 musicians and actors of all ages and abilities; all made possible by an army of 100 or so volunteers.
There are over 250 classes to choose from covering all musical instruments and grades, and spanning a huge range of genres from Classical to Musical Theatre, Jazz to Asian, Pop to Folk, as well as Speech and Drama classes including Verse Speaking, Creative Performance, Religious Texts, Business Pitches, Shakespeare and Acting.
Entering the festival represents an excellent personal development opportunity – everyone receives useful, constructive feedback from a professional adjudicator, as well as a certificate to recognise their participation.
Although competitive by nature, the festival spirit is about challenging yourself to take the stage and perform what you love doing with energy and passion. The process can be terrifying and rewarding in equal measure. The journey begins once you pluck up the courage to enter. The discipline of preparing and rehearsing your piece, the character-building process of overcoming your nerves to take the stage and the satisfaction of looking back upon your achievement.
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Constructive feedback from a professional
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Boost in confidence
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Sense of achievement
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Enrichment and broadening of experiences
Anecdotally, young entrants report improvements in their sense of wellbeing which translates into better performance at school and other aspects of life.
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