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 opera performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from around the world. The Festival was held in Buxton, Derbyshire, from 1994 to 2013, and from 2014 to 2022, it was held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, usually with a week in Buxton preceding the main part of the Festival. The entire Festival is set to return to Buxton in 2023. At the Festival, there are both professional and amateur Gilbert and Sullivan performances. Among the professional offerings are performances each year by the Festival's homegrown National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company. Amateur Gilbert and Sullivan performing societies from around the world perform on the Festival's main stage each year. A smaller nearby theatre and other venues host the Festival fringe, which consists of dozens of performances, including a Unifest competition among university groups, and lectures, a memorabilia fair, and other events. History The Festival was founded in 1994 by English businessman Ian Smith (1939–2019) and continues to be produced by his wife Janet, son Neil and their family to preserve and enhance the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. It also has a goal of reinstating G&S and the performing arts in schools in Britain. On several occasions, the Festival added a week of performances in the United States. The founders believe that the Gilbert and Sullivan works are an important national heritage and legacy, especially as performed in the tradition of the venerable D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which performed Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Operas continuously, year-round, for over a century until 1982. When the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company closed in 1982, greatly diminishing the amount of Gilbert and Sullivan produced in Britain, Ian Smith "had a burning anger" that the English Arts Council had not subsidised the company, and this led him to found the Festival. The Festival was held in Buxton, England, every year from 1994 to 2013, but it experimented with producing additional Festival weeks in other towns or cities, including Eastbourne, England once; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, twice; Berkeley, California, once; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, twice. The main part of the Festival relocated to Harrogate, England, in 2014. where it continues to be held each