Principal sponsor confirmed for Festival of Chichester 2027

Edward Cooke Family Law will once again be returning as principal sponsors of the Festival of Chichester.

They have been key supporters of the festival for five or six years now. Next year will be their third year in a row as the Festival's principal sponsors.

Managing director Edward Cooke is delighted to confirm their return – and is hoping once again to offer a concert with his brother as part of the Festival.

Edward, a family solicitor, mediator and collaborative lawyer, said: “The Festival of Chichester is so important for a number of reasons. It's such an important event within the community culture and within the whole cultural life of Chichester. There is nothing else like it. It covers so many groups and individuals and talented people across so many different venues. It's a fantastic event, and we're really proud to be associated with it.

“But as a firm we feel very passionate about supporting the communities across the three of our offices, and the Festival is the perfect opportunity for us to do exactly that.”

The key is what the arts do for all of us, Edward says: “I was in a cafe on Saturday night down at Bracklesham Bay. We had availed ourselves of open-water swimming, and there was a musician in the cafe. I just thought this is what music is all about. It lifted the whole atmosphere, and that's what the arts do for people. It's such a tonic for people to be able to share music and just to be together through music. It is so important.”

This summer Edward and his brother Matthew gave the concluding concert of the 2026 Festival of Chichester, offering Piano and Organ Duets for a Summer’s Afternoon at St Paul’s Church, Chichester where solicitor Edward is one of the organists.

Edward would be keen to do something similar again next year but with a slightly different emphasis: “We had a great audience and a lot of people came to us afterwards saying that they'd enjoyed it but some people were saying that they would like to have heard more piano and organ together which is what it was but there was also piano and piano. Someone said we didn't get enough piano and organ duets so I think next year the balance would be more towards duets between piano and organ. The challenge is finding the music. There is not a lot written for those two instruments. So the fun will be scouring what we can do. I think we'll be looking at the same venue again. It's a good size and worked well. Last year we did it for a charity, and I think that's probably what we will do next year as well.”