Most events for this year's Jersey Festival of Words will take place in Howard Davis Park.

That's because the Jersey Opera House will stay closed until at least next summer.

The festival is back in September for the first time since 2019.

There'll be a 400-seat marquee and a festival village around it with stages, a bookshop, and food vendors.

Events will also be held at the Arts Centre, Library, and Catel Fort.

Festival chairman Jennifer Bridge says the continued closure of the Opera House has forced them to think creatively.

"The move to a marquee in Howard Davis Park presents an opportunity to encapsulate the literary festival tent tradition while also refreshing and enlivening the festival after the Covid-enforced pause.

We look forward to welcoming back our familiar festival-goers and encouraging a new audience at this exciting new venue."

18-year-old Dan Rhodes, a magician who is popular on YouTube and TikTok, will appear in the first tranche of festival events alongside historian Tracy Borman, international bestselling author Sebastian Faulks CBE and journalist Safraz Manzoor.

Clare Balding, Richard Dawkins, and Carol Ann Duffy are among the high-profile names to feature at the festival since it started in 2015.

"We are proud to provide support to the Festival of Words because it has proven to deliver extraordinary value to our community and to the arts and cultural life of Jersey.

We want to help the festival dust itself down from the disruption of Covid and enable it to take the next steps in its growth and evolution." - Deputy Kirsten Morel, Assistant Minister with responsibility for Arts and Culture.