Henley Festival Henley Festival The Henley Festival of Music and the Arts is held, at Henley on Thames, each July, on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames, at the same spot and using adapted facilities from the Henley Royal Regatta, which is held the week before. The main stage floats on the river and the audience use one of the grandstands. Each evening it normally features a light classical music concert, with jazz later in the evening. There are other smaller stages, art exhibits, roving performers, outdoor restaurants, etc. Performers during 7–11 July 2010 include Nigel Kennedy, Bryn Terfel and Will
Henley Royal Regatta was clear that open women’s events would be dominated by foreign competitors, while events closed to foreign competitors would not serve the desired purpose. Another difficulty was the length of the course. The standard distance for international women's races was at that time 1000 m. It was clear that races over the full Henley course (2112 m) would not be appealing to women's crews preparing for international championships. Peter Coni, who was elected as Chairman of the regatta’s Committee of Management in 1978, was supportive of the idea of introducing women's events. However, he had had little time to take