[2] The inaugural Festival opened on 3 July 1982 with the Band of the Royal Marines processing from the market square in Lichfield to the west door of the Cathedral, which John Lang described as 'a kind of trumpet call to the City to be aware of our plans for pleasures to come'.
Further highlights of the opening year included performances by the Hallé and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras; and the Cambridge Footlights Revue, featuring the then relatively unknown Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Emma Thompson.
There were also international contributions from the Japanese Suzuki Tour Company, the French Rouen Officium Pastorum and the German Antiqua Cologne.
Highlights from the rest of the eighties included the visit of sitar legend Ravi Shankar together with tabla virtuoso Alla Rakha in 1984 – a year which also saw the Festival's one and only foray into musical theatre, with the Lichfield Cathedral School's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – a visit from Oscar Peterson in 1985, and skiffle Legend Lonnie Donegan came along with his dancing sunshine band in 1987.
In 1985, conductor Valery Gergiev, pianist Evgeny Kissin, and violinists Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin all received their UK debuts at the Lichfield Festival.
A new logo, typeface and corporate structure were introduced following Bowen's arrival, signalling a gentle loosening of the link between the Festival and the Cathedral.
In 2003 the Lichfield Garrick theatre, which had arisen quite literally from the ashes of the Civic Hall, was opened on the same night as that year's Festival, with a performance by the Jazz Jamaica All-Stars.
Mexican rockers Los de Abajo performed at the Lichfield Garrick, along with jazz vocal group The Passion, The Puppini Sisters, the Bryan Corbett Quartet, Rainer Hersch, Sir Roy Strong and The Hairy Bikers.
Other additions included a late-night Jazz series held at a new Festival venue, the George IV pub in the town centre.
An eclectic mix of bands formed from Birmingham's cobweb collective played to sell-out houses on seven of the ten nights of the Festival.
3 days of talks from authors including John Carey, David Crystal and Robert Hutchinson took place in the city's George Hotel.
A change motivated in no small part by the expansion in scope which saw events held at multiple venues around the city and running for four days.
The 2010 event encompassed a week for the first time and included talks from comedian Jo Brand, Labour politicians Tony Benn and Roy Hattersley, actor Ron Moody and the team behind the BBC's smash-hit adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford Novels.
Conceived originally as a one-off which coincided with the wider celebrations of the Cathedral's 800th anniversary, it proved successful – attracting up to 30,000 visitors – that it became an annual fixture.
Health and Safety concerns from nearby residents forced a switch to Beacon Park in the early 2000s, but the fireworks display was discontinued in 2012.