The Event Management System (EMS) is now open for event submissions for Open Cambridge 2024.
Open Cambridge, running in conjunction with the national Heritage Open Days (HOD) scheme, will take place between 6-15 September. Open Cambridge is open to all organisations, venues, museums, charitable sites, historic buildings, outside spaces such as national parks and more within Cambridgeshire. You do not need to have a connection to the University but your event must:
✅ Your event must be free for everyone
✅ It must be something that is not usually open to the public or there is usually a charge
✅ If you would like your event registered on the HOD website, it must take place during the festival dates. We can be a little more flexible for the Open Cambridge website.
This year, the HOD team have selected Routes-Networks-Connections as the national theme. Your event does not need to to coincide with the theme but here are some ideas for inspiration if you would like to use the theme:
- What’s in a name? Place names can tell us a lot about the people who settled in an area in the past.
- Wish you were here?! Why did people settle in your area, why did they visit, have those reasons changed? Do you have a marketplace or a village green? Meeting and trading places have hundreds of stories to tell.
- Where does the river run? From source to sea, how has it shaped the land, who travels on it? How has it brought people together?
- Lost links. Are there any ‘forgotten routes’ near you? Perhaps a lost Roman road, railway line, postal path or maybe there’s a street name on an old map that has changed or infilled with building over time?
- Famous faces. Thomas Cook, a pioneer of the package tourism industry, was a Leicester lad. Sarah Guppy whose inventions included an early suspension bridge design was born in Birmingham and lived in Bristol. Who is linked to your local area?
- The world on our doorstep. Look around and there are global influences everywhere. Are there some ‘Corinthian Columns’ in the local architecture – where have these designs come from? Check your local park – plants and trees that seem everyday to us now may have exotic origins!
You can explore more in the theme discovery pack available for download on the HOD website.
The Open Cambridge team is here to support you from event submission to event delivery, so please get in touch with any questions or queries you might have. You can find lots of useful information on our Open Cambridge coordinators page.