Festival drops JRR Tolkien's name in a bid to boost visitor numbers

May 12 2008 By Bob Haywood

THE name of Birmingham's best-loved author has been dropped from a city festival staged in his honour - to boost visitor numbers.

The Tolkien Weekend, which has been drawing in crowds of 10,000 for eight years, is being re-branded as Middle Earth Weekend.

Organisers say the decision has been taken to widen the appeal of the festivities in honour of JRR Tolkien.

Yet some critics say only diehard fans will have heard of Middle Earth - the mythical land where Lord Of The Rings is set.

The Tolkien Society insists the renaming has NOT come as a result of pressure from the powerful Tolkien Estate. It represents the family of the internationally-renowned writer and jealously protects the use of his name.

The re-styled weekend - featuring monsters, trolls and dragons - will be held in Birmingham next Saturday and Sunday.

JRR Tolkien wrote the classic Lord Of The Rings, which as well as being a best-seller worldwide was also turned into a trilogy of Hollywood blockbusters.

He derived his inspiration from living in Birmingham, including real-life locations Sarehole Mill, Moseley Bog and Perrotts Folly.

Tolkien, who also wrote The Hobbit, set his classic work in a mythical region called Middle Earth. Next weekend's celebrations will be focused on Sarehole Mill where there will be a performance of the classic Old English epic poem Beowulf.

Visitors to the event - supported by Birmingham City Council - will also be able to shoot arrows at monster targets on an archery range, look out for roaming dragons, watch a costume parade and savour story-telling.

A Tolkien Trail bus tour will also include visits to King Edward's School, which was attended by the author; the Oratory Catholic Church in Edgbaston where Tolkien's family worshipped; the nearby Perrott's Folly, inspiration for the Two Towers; and Moseley Bog.

Last night, Dave Corby, chairman of the organising committee for the newly renamed weekend, said: "The change in name has arisen due to our initiatives to broaden the appeal of the event. We have called the event The Tolkien Weekend for eight years and the single most common piece of feedback we have had from visitors over the years has been the lack of perceived change in the event from year to year.

"So, we decided to make improvements to try to provide something that will satisfy both visitors who want a familiar event and those looking for something new.

"We also hope this will keep the event fresh.

"One feedback we have received is that the name The Tolkien Weekend actually put off some potential visitors, the name seeming to some folk as if the weekend is solely for Tolkien fans.

"Therefore we decided to change the name to try and widen the appeal to all sectors of the community.

"The planning group eventually settled on The Middle Earth Weekend as a name in keeping with spirit of the event, but having a more friendly feel.

"As far as I am aware, the Tolkien Society was not pressured to change the weekend's name. We have a positive and pleasant relationship with the Tolkien Estate, and it has always been of the utmost help in any issues we wished to raise with them."

But Lord Of The Rings fan Michael Thomas, 23, from Coventry, said: "It seems a strange decision to drop Tolkien's name from a weekend held in his honour.

"I can't imagine people being put off attending because of his name. After all, the whole weekend is about him and his amazing works."

bob_haywood@mrn.co.uk