Chichester Observer

New app is great news for culture

- Phil Hewitt phil.hewitt@natoinalwo­rld.com

For a city of its size, Chichester has always punched way beyond its weight when it comes to the arts and culture – quite incredibly so.

And that’s one of the reasons our new app, covering Chichester down to Selsey, up to mid hurst and pet worth and across to Bognor regis, is such good news for all of us.

In Chichester we have the magnificen­t Chichester Festival Theatre, a venue which has always managed to retain its “owned by the community” feel despite the fact that it has enjoyed truly internatio­nal status for many decades now.

In Chichester we have also got, of course, the Cathedral, a venue with a rich musical tradition going back centuries and flourishin­g still – but also avenue which is a key player in modern British art, as indeed is Pallant House Gallery, a key attraction which is absolutely Chi chester but also absolutely internatio­nal. Plus we have got the Ox market, a venue transforme­d in recent years and thriving. Plus we have got the drama groups and all the remarkable individual­s, be they artists, novelists, playwright­s, poets or directors.

It is the richest and most fascinatin­g mix – which offers us the richest and most fascinatin­g challenge. How on earth do we do them all justice through the newspapers and the websites that we run. The answer, of course, is that we cover them as fully as we possibly can. But the arrival of our new app now allows us to take it all to the next level.

In recent years local journalism has been under enormous financial pressure which has resulted in on-line stories being overwhelme­d with popup advertisin­g. This app is completely different – moving the dial back to the halcyon days of local newspapers.

You can support what we do with a digital subscripti­on to the app from less that £1 per week (£3.99 a month) and try it completely free for your first month. If you buy an annual subscripti­on after your free trial month it will cost only £29.99. Apple users can find the app in the app store and Android users can download from Google Play store. We do hope you will support us. In becoming a subscriber you will help to protect the Observer’s renowned quality journalism. You can also contribute your own community reports to the a pp and to the newspaper. Simply log on to https://submit.na-tionalworl­d.com/?ref=SUWD and select Sussex World.

 ?? ?? The Sound of Music, Chichester Festival Theatre (photo by Manuel Harlan)
The Sound of Music, Chichester Festival Theatre (photo by Manuel Harlan)

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