Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2024: Huge event features rum parties with Ainsley Harriott, James Martin cooking demos and Dave Myers tribute

On one weekend in August, there will be more people in Bolton town centre than those who attended the Glastonbury festival earlier this year.

More than 500,000 people flock to the borough each August Bank Holiday weekend for the Bolton Food and Drink Festival - a four-day celebration of top chefs, independent food stalls and good vibes.

This year marks the 19th year of the festival and will see appearances from the likes of festival favourite James Martin and iconic chef Ainsley Harriott. But, despite still being a month away, plans for this year’s food festival (running from August 23-26) are already well underway.

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Invited to a preview event this week - on the same day as hundreds of newly-appointed graduates celebrated outside the historic Grade II-listed Bolton Town Hall building - the M.E.N heard more about what’s in store this year.

Having got a whistle-stop tour of the town centre, we’re brought into Bolton’s former Magistrates Court - which is now more familiar to viewers of shows like Happy Valley than criminals, having closed down ten years ago and been replaced with a newer building. Here, Bolton Council's Head of Marketing Nicola Littlewood awaits us in the judge's chair.

“Everybody in Bolton knows you can’t go anywhere else the weekend the festival is on,” Nic explains. “We’re a town, not a city, but we do have one of the biggest festivals in the UK. And we want it to be on the world stage.”

Across the four days, the festival’s main hub will be based in the public square outside the Town Hall where more than 200 independent traders and food stalls will set up their base. You can expect pasties, jams, coffees,