International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival was founded in 1994 by Ian Smith and his son Neil and is held every summer in England. The two- or three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from around the world. Beginning in 2014, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has hosted the Festival, which was held in Buxton, Derbyshire, from 1994 to 2013. At the Festival, up to a dozen amateur Gilbert and Sullivan performing societies from around the world compete on the Festival's main stage each
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival scores each performance, and both group and individual awards are announced at the end of the Festival. At the first Festival in 1994, first prize was awarded to the production of "Utopia, Limited" presented by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Maine, in the US (then known as the G&S Society of Hancock County). The Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company has won the first prize more often than any other company (six times); and the South Anglia Savoy Players has won five times and placed second four times. Festival Productions, Ireland, won in three consecutive years, 2007 to 2009. Individual