The 2017 programme for The Manx Music, Speech and Dance Festival is available now.

The festival, better known as The Guild, celebrates its 125th anniversary from April 21 to 29 at the Villa Marina, Douglas, and has a new-look programme cover to mark the occasion.

The programme contains details of all classes, test pieces, competitors and venues; it is a ’must-buy’ for anyone competing, attending or simply interested in the festival.

Festival chairman Sarah Kelly said: ’We want to mark the 125th festival as a special occasion and one way of doing that is the introduction of a new programme cover which celebrates our heritage while looking ahead to a very bright future for the Guild.’

At the back of the 2017 programme there is a complete version of W H Gill’s Manx National Anthem in both Manx and English. The anthem was first performed at the Guild in 1907, having been written for the composition class that year. It wasn’t until 2003 that it was officially adopted as the Manx National Anthem.

Sarah added: ’At the end of each day at the festival, the first verse is sung in the Royal Hall as a Guild tradition. However, on Cleveland Night more verses are sung and it is always a very emotional moment to hear many of the island’s finest singers in full voice singing our anthem with such pride, particularly as the anthem is a part of the Guild history.’

The programme, costing £4, is available from outlets island-wide.

Trophies should be returned to Peter Norris Music, Buck’s Road, Douglas, by April 1.

The festival is sponsored by construction firm Dandara.