The beers and ciders will be featured in a huge marquee on the main castle green; however it is planned to stage the musical entertainment in the magnificent bandstand within the lower grounds. There will be a bar in a smaller tent positioned adjacent to slake the thirsts of those enjoying the music.

We hope to have a wider range of stalls, particularly food stalls selling local produce, and other attractions than was possible at the previous venue. Perhaps one of the most important improvements, apart from the splendid location itself, will be the much larger amount of space available, there will be much more room to enjoy your beer and we should not have the previous situation where would-be customers have to queue for hours in the hope of gaining admission because the permitted number of customers will be far, far higher.

Nottingham Castle’s General Manager Dave Green expressed his pleasure at the move, “We are delighted to be able to host this highly regarded annual event. Not only will the customers enjoy this new venue, but they will also get the opportunity to appreciate what a great attraction the castle offers to both local residents and visitors alike.”

The decision to move comes after years of searching for a new and better venue. Discussions to use the Castle grounds have been ongoing for some time and the proposal to shut Victoria Leisure Centre acted as the final spur to make the move.

Festival Organiser Steve Westby comments “ It will be sad to leave the Victoria Leisure Centre after all those years but it became increasingly obvious that we had to move to a new venue if the festival was to remain successful. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all of the staff at the Centre who have given us so much help and support over the past 31 years”.

So get those dates in your diary - 9th to 12th October – it’s going to be the biggest and best Beer Festival that Nottingham has ever seen and our aim is to make the event the best in the East Midlands if not the country.