20,000 flowers arrive at Cathedral

Helen Bamping with some of the 20,000 flowers


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01 July 2009

From 3 to 6 July Manchester Cathedral is to host the biggest flower installation the region has seen for over 50 years. 20,000 flowers will be arranged by 100 floral artists drawn from clubs and societies across Greater Manchester.

Helen Bamping, Cathedral head flower arranger and event coordinator, said; “We regularly design displays for weddings or memorial services-such as George Best’s. What we are designing this time is even bigger than what we did for the Queen’s Royal Maundy service. With so many groups coming from all over Greater Manchester, people will have seen nothing like this - it will be breath-taking.”

The 20,000 blooms are being driven from Holland and include tropical flowers and thousands of red roses. Once the flowers have arrived, it will take the artists 24 hours to complete the displays ready for the opening event on 3 July.

The idea for the festival came from The Very Revd Rogers Govender, the Dean of Manchester. He said, “There has not been such a celebration of floral art in Manchester since the 1950s. I thought it was time that Cathedral, in the middle of the International Arts Festival, hosted a unique artistic event. We have asked each artist to take inspiration from key themes found within the Christian Bible, with a special emphasis on ‘Faith, Hope and Love’. These eternal values have lasted the test of time and still provide a great deal of comfort for those who are in the middle of our current economic woes and worries. My advice is to head for the Cathedral for a little bit of blooming petal therapy!”

The flower festival runs from 3 to 6 July between 10am and 6pm. During this time entry to the Cathedral will costs £5 (£4 concessions), with free admission for children accompanied by an adult and free entry for those wanting to enter the Cathedral for private prayer. During the family-friendly event there will be a café located in the Cathedral.


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