In 2020, this 409 year old world-famous event was unable to happen - along with events all over the country. The event is run as a non-profit and each year costs about £25,000 to stage and makes about £20,000, so we plug the gap by fundraising. Having been in lock-down since March, we've missed a lot of opportunities, so to kick off the 2021 fundraising season - Annie & Kate are going straight in for the big one - Their first ever marathon!

Both women have been heavily involved with the games over the last few years and, along with the rest of the committee and team of volunteers have made sure that the event can carry on.

To anyone who has enjoyed this brilliant event and wants to see it return next year, we're asking you get behind our two heroic runners - Annie Threadgill & Kate Duke - who will be running the 64th Isle of Wight Marathon on October 4th 2020 to promote our cause - pictured here, where The Games happen, on Dover's Hill just outside Chipping Campden.

Having rejuvenated the event in 2017 we'd been doing really well each year with the fundraising and the town had really got behind us. This year, not only were we hoping to turn a modest profit so we could make next year's event even better, but we had just finished a proposal to apply for heritage lottery funding for The 2021 project. That fund was closed to all live and new applications without review or exception in March so if we want to continue it we need to look at raising funds ourselves. The project will be a culture, history and arts project. It was started in 2019 and collects and records the stories of 'The Modern Olimpicks' and 'Scuttlebrook Wake' from in-and-around Chipping Campden, where both events happen each Spring.

Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the last revival of The Games and we really hope to be able to put on an exhibition of the project - photographs, videos and listening projects - but we need your help to be able to do this AND put on the games - the games obviously being the priority.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support - give what you can, every little makes the future of this unique event that little bit brighter.

https://www.olimpickgames.co.uk/

Photos courtesy of Andrew Duke & Chris Roberts