News Story

This year, Chichester Festival Theatre celebrates 20 years of partnership with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a leading supporter. This continuous relationship dates from the start of motor car production at the home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in 2003.

Rolls-Royce is one of our select group of Platinum Sponsors and is an important contributor to the Theatre’s artistic and outreach work, promoting the creativity and excellence that are central to the marque’s own values. Our relationship also underlines the deep roots Rolls-Royce has established in the local community since it chose Chichester as the location for its new home in the early 2000s.

In 2007, the partnership was recognised with a Sustainability Award from Arts & Business South East. The following year, Rolls-Royce’s beautiful, landscaped grounds provided a glorious setting for Chichester Festival Youth Theatre’s open-air promenade show, Toad of Toad Hall.

Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations and Heritage, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, says:
“This year we mark 20 years of hand-crafting motor cars at Goodwood, and throughout that time, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with our friends at Chichester Festival Theatre. This acclaimed venue, only a couple of miles from the Home of Rolls-Royce, is one of our home city’s crown jewels. As one of just a handful of Platinum Sponsors, it’s our privilege and pleasure to support its wonderful work, both on its fabled stage and in the local community. Together, we represent two great Chichester institutions, with a shared commitment to championing creativity, community engagement and practising our respective arts at the very highest level.”

Kathy Bourne, Executive Director of Chichester Festival Theatre, says: “Rolls-Royce is a leading light of Chichester’s business community and we’ve hugely valued the company’s generous sponsorship over the past 20 years, ever since the Goodwood-based manufacturing plant was first established. We share with Rolls-Royce a strong commitment to our local community and an international reputation for excellence, flying the flag for British expertise worldwide. We offer them our warmest congratulations on their 20th anniversary and our thanks for their ongoing support."