Sixty-Band Showdown at the 2025 Spring Festival

Blackpool Winter Gardens Ready to Host Sixty Bands at its Last Spring Festival

The stage is set for the 103rd British Open Spring Festival, returning to Blackpool's Winter Gardens on Saturday, May 10th, 2025 for the last time before the contest is relocated to Birmingham in 2026. Sixty bands will take to the stage, competing across the Grand Shield, Senior Cup, and Senior Trophy.

Grand Shield – Opera House

Kicking off at 10:30am, the Grand Shield will feature 20 bands performing Edward Gregson's Dance and Arias. The top two bands will earn invitations to the 2025 British Open Championship at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, on 6th September 2025.

Competing Bands:

Amersham (Paul Fisher)

Ashton under Lyne (Paul Lovatt-Cooper)

Camborne Town (Gareth Churcher)

City of Bradford (Lee Skipsey)

Desford Colliery (Ian Porthouse) EverReady (Stephen Roberts)

Fishburn (Chris Bentham)

Friary Brass (Nigel Taken)

GUS Band (Dr David Thornton)

Hepworth (Ryan Watkins)

NASUWT Riverside (Prof Nicholas Childs)

Northop (Ryan Richards)

Rainford (Sarah Groarke-Booth)

Redbridge (Chris Bearman)

Rothwell Temperance (David Roberts)

Skelmanthorpe (Gareth Brindle)

St. Dennis (Darren Hawken)

Stannington Brass (Sam Fisher)

Wantage (Chris King)

Wingates (Matt Ryan)

Senior Cup – Pavilion Theatre

Starting at 10:00am, bands in the Senior Cup will tackle Martin Ellerby's Terra Australis. The top four bands will progress to the 2026 Grand Shield contest.

Competing Bands

City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) (David Hamilton)

City of Hull (Daniel Brooks)

Dalmellington (Andrew Duncan)

Derwent Brass (Jack Capstaff)

Ebbw Valley Brass (Matthew Rowe)

Elland Silver (Ben Dixon)

Haverhill Silver (Paul Filby)

Kingdom Brass (Alistair Gibson)

Kirkintilloch (Hedley Benson)

Marsden Silver (Leigh Baker)

Milnrow (Christopher Binns)

Newtongrange Silver (Anne Crookston)

Pemberton OLD Wigan DW (Thomas Wyss)

Ratby Co-operative (Ian McElligott)

Shepherd Brass (Richard Wilton)

Thundersley Brass (Melvin White)

Tongwynlais Temperance (Owen Farr)

Tylorstown (Robert Westacott)

Unite the Union (Jonathan Beatty)

Verwood Concert (Kevin Smith)

Senior Trophy – Spanish Hall

Commencing at 11:00am, the Senior Trophy will challenge bands with Malcolm Arnold's Fantasy for Brass Band. The top four bands will be promoted to the 2026 Senior Cup.

Competing Bands:

Blackburn & Darwen (Daniel Thomas)

Boarshurst Silver (Jamie Prophet)

Brass Band of Central England (Stephen Cooper)

Brunel Brass (Daniel Hall)

Dalkeith & Monktonhall (James Chamberlain)

Easington Colliery (Graeme Tindall)

East London Brass (Jayne Murrill)

Eccles Borough (Mareika Gray)

Enderby (Michael Fowles)

Goodwick (Stephen Sykes)

Longridge (Mark Peacock)

Newstead (Martin Heartfield)

Parc & Dare (Dewi Griffiths)

Pontardulais (Paul Jenkins)

Roberts Bakery (Mike Jones)

Roche Brass (Matthew Green)

Tyldesley (Neil Samuel)

Unite Scotland Kinneil Band (Allan Ramsay)

Woodfalls (Joshua Ruck)

Yorkshire Imperial (Stephen Malcolm)

Event Details

Adjudicating the contests will be Lt Col David Barringer, Morgan Griffiths, Alan Morrison, Lt Col Lauren Petritz-Watts, Andrea Price, and Helen Varley. Their section assignments will be announced on Saturday morning.

Tickets are available for purchase at the Foyer inside the Main Entrance on Church Street from 9:00am.

See You There

All that's left to say is, best of luck to all who are competing at the weekend. I'm looking forward to taking to the stage with Rainford Band, performing Dances and Arias in the Grand Shield. The weather is set to be glorious, so I'm also looking forward to a cold pint in a sunny beer garden! I'll be posting updates throughout the day, so keep an eye on the It's Not a Trumpet social media accounts!