Huge headliners announced for the tenth Innovation Festival

Blur bassist Alex James, ski jumping legend Eddie the Eagle, the first British astronaut Helen Sharman and Gladiator Jodie Ounsley will headline Northumbrian Water’s tenth Innovation Festival next month (JUL).

The milestone event - which seeks to tackle challenges such as environmental protection and water scarcity - will see the well-known personalities joining festival attendees for a series of inspirational live talks, meet and greets and Q&A sessions at Newcastle Racecourse between 6-9^th July. 

Opening the event on Monday the 6^th, Helen Sharman, who was the first British astronaut in space, will take to the stage for an inspirational talk on pushing boundaries, her training and what happened in her eight days of orbiting the earth.

Tuesday will see Alex James, known for chart-toppers such as ‘Song 2’ and ‘Tender’ with britpop band Blur, talking about his leap from the world of music to acquiring a farm, creating a food festival and becoming a writer and cheese and wine producer.

Star of BBC’s Gladiators, Jodie Ounsley, aka ‘Fury’, will be the headline act for Wednesday, as she is set to share her compelling story of becoming the first deaf female rugby player to represent England at senior level, as well as her advocacy for deaf awareness, inclusion, and inspiring young people to overcome barriers.

And closing the show on Thursday is ski-jumping legend, Eddie ‘the eagle’ Edwards – who will challenge innovators to overcome their own adversity and will give tips on personal resilience.

Adding to the outstanding line-up are returning fan favourites, including award-winning adventurer Tim FitzHigham, futurist Ant Morse, quirky comedy duo FoxDog Studios and musician Chris Read.

Scottish rugby union national Emma Wassell will also be taking part in the event’s Women in STEM evening panel.

Over 3,000 people are expected to attend the event, which sets a real festival vibe in order to get creative juices flowing for innovators who will be taking part in ‘sprints’ that tackle huge challenges such as environmental protection and water scarcity.

Angela MacOscar, Head of Innovation at Northumbrian Water, said: “We’re celebrating our tenth Innovation Festival, which is a huge achievement - so we knew we had to really pull it out of the bag with some amazing names.

“Each of the personalities on this year’s line-up bring something completely different, and I think they will all cover something totally unique – but will all inspire our innovators to take big leaps, think out of the box, and really apply our guests words to their sprints.”

To register for the Innovation Festival, completely free, go to – www.innovationfestival.org/register