Wimbledon and Henley hit by Baillie Gifford controversy

Henley Literary Festival and Wimbledon BookFest are the latest literary events to be hit by the Baillie Gifford controversy. 

Several festivals have announced an end to their work with Baillie Gifford over the past week, following a months-long campaign over the investment manager’s alleged links to fossil fuel firms and Israel. These include Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival and The Borders Book Festival. 

This was followed by news that Baillie Gifford itself had withdrawn funding from Cheltenham, Wigtown and Stratford, amid speculation that the sponsor would end support for all literary events imminently. Henley Literary Festival and Wimbledon BookFest are the latest to be hit. 

A statement issued by Henley this afternoon (6th June) said the festival had been "informed by Baillie Gifford that they are ending sponsorships of all literary festivals at the end of this year and that they will not be present at our festival this year".

The statement continues: “The transformation of Henley Literary Festival, from a small local event to what it is today, is thanks to 10 years of support from Baillie Gifford. Some of that sponsorship contributed, in the last three years, to the streaming of free events to over 62,000 school children across the country by a variety of inspiring children’s authors. Along with the rest of the book world we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”

Following this, Wimbledon BookFest announced an end to its work with Baillie Gifford. Founder and director Fiona Razvi said: “As lead sponsor for the past eight years, Baillie Gifford’s support has been invaluable in helping us to expand and sustain the festival through the challenging times of recent years, helping us to bring thought-provoking and inspiring events to our audience and widening cultural access for all in our community.

"We are especially proud of our work together to extend our education outreach programme and to connect communities across the globe. We thank everyone on the Baillie Gifford team for their support, and the contribution they have played, in helping us provide an essential platform for authors and readers to come together, share ideas and debate the big challenges facing us today.” 

The Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction and Cambridge Literary Festival, which is sponsored by Baillie Gifford, are yet to issue statements.

Baillie Gifford has been approached for comment.