Skip to main content
Gifts from The Morning Star
Tolpuddle goes virtual
All the fun of the festival can be enjoyed via your computer screen this year, says PETER FROST

NEARLY two centuries ago in the 1830s, six farm workers in west Dorset formed a trade union. That single invention would go all the way round the world.

In 1989 a British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, invented the world wide web. 

Originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world, it has now grown to be a diverse network for all sorts of information exchange.

This weekend those two great British inventions — trade unions and the internet — will come together to celebrate the first ever online Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival.  

Due to the coronavirus the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival goes online and will now be live streamed on Facebook and YouTube, with attendees also able to join in with the many festival activities throughout the weekend.

The South West TUC is trying to make the virtual event as similar and enjoyable and as close as possible to the original, complete with debates, films, comedy, music, a kids’ area and a virtual procession on the Sunday afternoon.

The virtual festival, held on the same days as the original, will be livestreamed across various digital platforms. 

Festival organiser and regional secretary of the South West TUC Nigel Costley told the Morning Star: “Tolpuddle has always been more than simply music and politics. It’s a gathering of like-minded people, a joyous celebration of trade union solidarity — and that’s what we’re hoping to reflect online.

“We have a full programme of topical debates, a full programme of films and a full programme of music ranging from those who would have played this year’s event to those who we welcome back from previous festivals — all performing exclusive sets for us.

“We’ll also be covering the wreath-laying, interviewing stall-holders and encouraging families to design banners so they can join the virtual procession on Sunday afternoon.”

The whole event will be presented by familiar faces from the festival to add that special Tolpuddle touch.

Watch out for some Tolpuddle regulars and some special surprises.

The festival is free to attend for all. Visit www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk for more information.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Features / 22 December 2022
22 December 2022
Have you been paying attention? PETER FROST has a few tricky questions from his recent Ramblings
NICHE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT: Sarah Starkey, who runs Mistle
Frosty's Ramblings / 15 December 2022
15 December 2022
PETER FROST prepares for the festive season
TIMES GONE BY: (left) The Hippodrome designed by architect R
Features / 8 December 2022
8 December 2022
PETER FROST is planning a seasonal outing. Let’s hope he doesn’t make a clown of himself
A gannet in flight
Frosty's Rambling / 1 December 2022
1 December 2022
With avian flu devastating our bird populations both wild and commercial, PETER FROST looks at feathered friends large and small
Similar stories
EIF pamphlets
Features / 1 July 2025
1 July 2025

ANN HENDERSON on the exciting programme planned for this summer’s festival in the Scottish capital

(L) Poster for the RFN conference, Genoa 2022; (R) Screening
Interview / 14 January 2025
14 January 2025
Brett Gregory speaks to STEVE PRESENCE and MATTHIAS KISPERT, co-conveners of the RFN, the largest alternative film/media communication hub in the world
A sketch of the Drax Hall plantation in Barbados
Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival 2024 / 20 July 2024
20 July 2024
KEITH FLETT uncovers the links between Dorset landowners, Caribbean plantations, slavery and the prosecution of trade unionists, revealing a darker side to the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ story
Fighting and winning: A Unison picket during their successfu
Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival 2024 / 20 July 2024
20 July 2024
Unison South West regional secretary KERRY BAIGENT charts the recent successes for industrial action and organising in her area, and outlines the challenges ahead, urging Labour to deliver on workers’ rights and social care