Sussex Together will unite us all in troubled times

We are thrilled to announce the #Sussextogether Festival of the Arts, a major new festival which will bring together East and West Sussex to capture the spirit of togetherness which is seeing us through the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival is a collaboration between Chichester Cathedral and all the newspapers which come under the title Sussex Newspapers... that’s to say all your favourite local trusted newspapers and websites including the Chichester Observer Series, the Worthing Herald Series, the West Sussex County Times, the West Sussex Gazette, Crawley Observer, Littlehampton Gazette, Mid Sussex Times, Eastbourne Herald, Sussex Express, Hastings Observer Series and Brighton and Hove Independent.

The point is that the cathedral and Sussex Newspapers both stand for togetherness, the very thing which we have never needed more and which we have shown in abundance during these awful past few months.

The cathedral is a powerful and positive community, just as our newspapers are a common bond which has helped unite us in our anguish.

These have been the most extraordinary times, and as we start to rebuild our lives, it is so important that we reflect on what really matters.

And the arts matter hugely.

Our arts calendar was wiped out – ironically at a time when we had never needed the arts more. The result was a remarkable outpouring of creativity on social media. We want to harness that now across Sussex and turn it into a celebration of all that makes Sussex special.

Our newspapers cover all of Sussex, as does the diocese of Chichester. That means the cathedral, as the Mother Church of the Diocese, and our papers are brilliantly positioned to lead this celebration.