Cambridge Literary Festival

Rooted in the scholarly city’s historic venues, Cambridge Literary Festival seized the opportunities for digital experimentation presented by Covid-19 to create an academic programme built for everybody.

The project

CLF events present literary greats alongside debut writers, scientists, artists, politicians, comedians, historians, journalists, poets, and a vibrant programme of events for younger audiences. In November 2020 this was transformed into a large-scale digital festival to help secure the Festival’s future.

The brief

Facing the uncertainty and risk of coronavirus to audiences, speakers and staff, CLF sought an improved website and slick digital presentation through which to reach a broad global audience and people of all backgrounds across the UK. This required a strong visual identity and ease of access for all ages and digital capabilities.

The solution

Using a blend of live and recorded discussions, we facilitated over 30 events, providing consistent visual branding for all platforms, and enabling audience participation via live chat and real-time Q&A for live events.

We have since collaborated on a second digital festival, followed by digital ‘one-off events’ throughout the year, made possible by the warm reception of the digital festivals. Following eased restrictions, the Festival team have integrated digital methods into their programming. We have facilitated multi-camera livestreaming to provide an immersive experience for audience members at home, alongside live Q&A and live chat functions.