Capital Age Festival (CAF) has really exploded into life since its conception and the number of visitors has grown steadily.  From 900 attendees in 2003 to over 25,000 in 2007! 

CAF evolved from the London Older People’s Strategies’ Group (LOPSG), an umbrella forum of over 250 older people’s organisations, founded in 2000 and set up to engage with the Mayor of London.

One of LOPSG’s initial aims was to establish a free pan-London older people’s festival. CAF ensured that the festival highlighted not only the celebration of age, but also older Londoners frequently forgotten contribution to the cultural, social and economic life of the Capital City.

The participatory arts are now considered to be a crucial aid to active ageing, health and quality of life.

In 2006, engaged Platform3 consultants, with funding from Arts Council England, London, to undertake an audit of participatory arts activities and older Londoners and to recommend to CAF how it might support older people’s aspirations through the delivery of its festival events. The research revealed that over 10,000 older Londoners are involved in arts activities on a regular basis!

As a result of the research, CAF hosted a Winter Festival on 8th February 2007 in the Chamber at City Hall.  This was CAF’s first indoor event, featuring a rich mix of performance and conversation in the company of 100 older artists including poets, singers, dancers, actors and musicians. The Guardian writer, Michele Hanson, launched the new CAF website, funded by Awards for All, and Nicola Hutcheson of Platform3, highlighted their extensive research findings.

In 2008, CAF produced “Capital Age Festival – the Big Chair Dance 2008”, held in the Clore Ballroom at the Southbank Centre. This was a mass participative dance event for older people and was the central feature of the summer festival. The new venue brought provocative and innovative work to new audiences. The work challenged stereotypes and changed perceptions of older people from different cultural backgrounds. 12 older people's groups from across London were selected to participate in the event and developed separate segments of the final piece, sensitive to cultural differences and experience. The central event spawned several mini-festivals of the dances. Approximately 3,000 audience members watched over 200 performers.

In April 2009 as a result of the Platform 3 research and further external research, CAF appointed Paul Margrave as Artistic and Operational Director. His background working in a wide range of mainstream, community and disability arts organisations, including four years with the inspirational Spare Tyre Theatre Company, has brought new energy and stimulus to the organisation. CAF also appointed Paul Joseph in the voluntary role of Treasurer, working with Financial Director, Mark Windisch.

Since the initial festival in 2003, CAF has continued to grow through older people’s dedication, knowledge and experience. It has also benefited hugely from the enthusiastic support from the Mayor of London, a large pool of volunteers and key stakeholders including LOPSG, Arts Council England, London, local borough authorities and Coin Street Community Builders. CAF has established an exceptional network of contacts with London's foremost professional and voluntary arts organisations working with older people and since 2007 has worked in partnership with arts organisations to deliver festival activity. The annual festival has a strong and dedicated following and is a focal point in the cultural calendar of many older Londoners.