Over 1,500 former students and their friends are due to arrive in Bristol this weekend [3–5 July] to take part in the University’s centenary alumni weekend celebrations.
The packed programme of activities to mark the University’s centenary includes talks and tours, picnics and parties, concerts and a chance to catch up with old friends.
Highlights include Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal discussing his love of food with Professor Peter Barham, and Dr Mark Horton and Dr Alice Roberts talking about the making of BBC 2’s Coast.
Other key events include the Prom on the Close, which is offering discounted tickets to University staff, students and alumni, on Saturday evening, and the opening at the Architecture Centre of a new exhibition on the University’s buildings.
The special programme is set to attract the largest number of returning alumni in the University's history, who will travel from as far away as Australia, Hong Kong and Kuwait. Alumni aged between 21 and 100, representing graduation years from 1930 to 2009, will be in attendance.
One special alumna making the trip back to Bristol is Lady Isobel Wood (known as Molly). Molly graduated in 1930 and is celebrating her 100th birthday in this, the University’s centenary year. To mark the occasion, she will be presented with an honorary MA at a special centenary ceremony in the Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building on Saturday 4 July.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Tania Jane Rawlinson, Director of Campaigns and Alumni Relations, said:
‘It will be terrific to welcome so many former students back to Bristol. Hundreds of University staff, students and alumni are working hard to ensure that the weekend will be fun and inspirational. We will be celebrating both the University’s achievements in its first hundred years, and those of its graduates – who are leaders and pioneers in every field imaginable. Bristol University staff and students, past and present, are looking forward to a great weekend in our beautiful city, where we can meet up and celebrate together.’