## Bastille Day Fest
(CIO - FOUNDATION Registered 24 Feb 2021)
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2025
Charity Registration No. 1193646
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2025 Charity Registration No. 1193646
## LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Trustees
Celine Jouan (Chair) Anubha Bandhari (Treasurer) Alan Bunce (secretary)
## Appointed Chief Executive
Appointed Director of Arts/Culture/Heritage Provision and Promotion
Boubacar Dembele
Vincent Valere
Charity number 1193646
Registered office
Ground Floor 17 Stanshawe Road Reading RG1 1PB
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION .................................................................................... 2 Structure, governance and management ........................................................................................... 3 Objectives and activities ..................................................................................................................... 3 Achievements and performance ......................................................................................................... 4 Plans .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Financial review .................................................................................................................................. 4 Reserves policy .................................................................................................................................... 4 Risk review .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Public Benefit ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Recruitment and appointment of Executive team ............................................................................. 5 Responsibilities of the Executive Team............................................................................................... 5
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2025 Charity Registration No. 1193646
The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.
As a charity with incomes below £25000, the accounts have been prepared as Receipts and payments accounts.
## Structure, governance and management
Three French nationals living in Reading, Boubacar Dembélé, Frédéric Kayrouz, and Vincent Valère, started the Bastille Day Fest to give back to the town. They organized this French-themed event to celebrate community spirit. Despite limited marketing due to self-funding, the event attracts about 2000 visitors each year.
The festival became a registered charity on February 24, 2021, replacing the limited company that had organized it since 2012. The trustees for the year were:
- Celine Jouan (Chair)
- Anubha Bandhari (Treasurer)
- Alan Bunce (Secretary)
The executive team managing the charity and organizing the event as volunteers were:
- Boubacar Dembele (Chief Executive)
- Vincent Valere (Director of Arts/Culture/Heritage Provision and Promotion)
## Objectives and activities
We recognize that the arts, including culinary arts, sports, music, crafts, and other forms of cultural entertainment, are integral components of everyday life and essential for community engagement and participation. They bring together people from different cultures and, in our case, provide an opportunity to introduce elements of France, Europe, and beyond to the UK. These activities contribute to economic growth and skill development. They also offer a constructive way for individuals to get involved and accessible tools for people to develop their own ideas to explore and address local interests and issues.
Every year since 2012, the Bastille Day Festival has been organized in Reading on a weekend around July 14th to:
- Provide and promote arts, culture, and heritage through the organization of at least one yearly festival showcasing British and European, particularly French, cultures for the enjoyment of residents of Reading and Berkshire.
- Offer local and international artists, especially those from France, an opportunity to display their talents, thus promoting various forms of art on international, national, professional, and local amateur levels, by providing arts facilities and venues and encouraging high standards in art. This includes abstract, conceptual, performance, representational, and figurative art.
- Benefit the wider population, as well as French expatriates and groups of friends and families from diverse backgrounds who may be interested in the event's entertainment, cultural, and culinary offerings.
- Support local communities, including Black, Asian, and other minority groups in the UK who are French and British nationals, as well as individuals from other parts of the world.
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2025 Charity Registration No. 1193646
## Achievements and performance
The success of the Bastille Festival Reading is crucial for highlighting Reading's vibrant multicultural community and fostering cultural understanding and unity. This festival not only serves as a platform for showcasing diverse cultures but also significantly contributes to the local economy and community spirit.
- Elevated Reading's international profile and highlighted its rich multicultural diversity.
- As every year, drew over 3000 attendees and getting closer and closer to 5000, enhancing local community engagement.
- Offered a wide array of culinary delights, including Caribbean and Korean foods, with French gastronomy as the centrepiece.
- Strengthened intercultural connections and community bonds.
- Garnered extensive online engagement, promoting the UK's diverse culture leading to more volunteer willing to give their time
- Maintained £3500 financial support from REDA
- Benefited from the generous contributions of executive team, artists, volunteers, and inkind donations.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors, Reading’s Economy & Destination Agency, Hobbycraft, Decathlon, and our dedicated volunteers and stall holders. Their support was instrumental in the success of this culturally enriching event.
## Plans
The plan is similar to previous years as Bastille Day Fest still aims to use its success to improve fundraising and expand cultural sharing. This includes partnering with schools and extending activities beyond July to increase community involvement and cultural exchange year-round.
Future outreach with schools is still important to provide educational resources to promote French language and culture, enhancing students' appreciation of French heritage. These efforts align with the festival's mission to foster cultural diversity and may lead to school participation in festival events, strengthening community and educational ties.
The charity is also planning events with support from the French Embassy and another event in Reading in the spring.
## Financial review
The Receipts and payments accounts is attached. The charity reports a positive balance of £17 for the year to 31 March 2025.
## Reserves policy
The Executive team has recommended that the charity should aim to retain between 25% and 50% of its annual resources after each Festival. At this level, the management committee believes they would be able to sustain the current activities of the charity in the event of a significant decrease in funding. Despite attempts to diversify the charity funding source, the charity has no reserves and relies on the generosity and funding commitments from the Executive Team and the Reading’s Economy & Destination Agency (formerly known as Abbey Quarter Business Improvement District).
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2025 Charity Registration No. 1193646
## Risk review
The management committee regularly addresses and mitigates risks facing the charity.
Key Risks:
- **Financial** – The Festival operates with limited reserves and relies heavily on grants and donations from the Executive Team to facilitate its events programme. Relationships with key stakeholders are actively maintained, and grant applications are submitted promptly to ascertain early the potential level of event expenditure. No financial commitments are made without secured funding. Events are designed to be scalable.
- **Personnel** – The Festival is supported by a dedicated but small core team comprising 3 trustees and 2 Executives. The skills and voluntary time commitment of these individuals are crucial for delivering the annual events programme. Succession planning is continuously considered, and new volunteers are engaged in Festival activities to foster local support. Recruiting new committee members remains a priority and the 4 volunteers currently working with the committee is testament to our continuing efforts.
- **Reputational** – The Festival has a reputation for delivering high-quality and well-organized events. Regular event planning meetings are conducted throughout the year to ensure opportunities for discussion and quality checks. A robust health and safety process is in place. Ongoing government recommendations on Covid safety may continue to influence future event plans.
## Public Benefit
The Charity’s trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Commission in exercising their powers or duties.
## Recruitment and appointment of Executive team
Executive have been chosen due to their experience in organising the festival for over 10 years and the trustees do not feel the need to make any changes.
## Responsibilities of the Executive Team
The responsibilities of the Executive Team is in line with the Scheme of Delegation - Bastille Day Fest provided to the Charity Commission at inception.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to charities with income below £25000.
Approved by the Trustees and Executive team on 20 January 2026
Signed on their behalf by:
__________________________
Mr Anubha Bandhari (Treasurer)
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2025 Charity Registration No. 1193646
**Bastille Day Fest 1193646 Receipts and payments accounts CC16a For the period** Period start date Period end date **To from** 01/04/2024 31/03/2025
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|**Section A Receipts and payments**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest**
**£**
**1,441**
**3,500**
**2,200**
**-**
**700**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**7,841**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**7,841**
**1,470**
**2,651**
**818**
**504**
**100**
**482**
**1,800**
**7,825**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**7,825**
**17**
**-**
**-**
**17**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**1,441**
**3,500**
**2,200**
**-**
**700**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**7,841**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**7,841**
**1,470**
**2,651**
**818**
**504**
**100**
**482**
**1,800**
**-**
**-**
**7,825**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**7,825**
**17**||**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|payingstall holders(£50per stall)|**1,441**|||||**-**|
|sponsors|**3,500**|||||**-**|
|sponsors-inkind (inc. space, volunteer
staff hours)|**2,200**|||||**-**|
|grants|**-**|||||**-**|
|Executive Committee Donation|**700**|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
||**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for_
_AR)_|**7,841**|||||**-**|
||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**|||||||
||**-**||||||
||**-**|||||**-**|
|~~**_Sub total_**~~|**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**
**A3 Payments**|||||||
|||||||**-**|
||||||||
|insurance & storage|**1,470**|||||**-**|
|Stage,PA equipment,Artists,hotel|**2,651**|||||**-**|
|Security,Medical & First Aidprovision|**818**|||||**-**|
|Loo hire, generator,wood|**504**|||||**-**|
|Social Media ads+ week ad campaign|**100**|||||**-**|
|Park Hire|**482**|||||**-**|
|sponsors-inkind (inc. volunteer staff hours)|**1,800**|||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|||||||**-**|
|**_Sub total_ **|**7,825**|||||**-**|
||||||||
|**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|||||||
||**-**||||||
||**-**||||||
|**_Sub total_ **|**-**|||||**-**|
|**_Total payments_**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**_Cash funds this year end_**|||||||
|||||||**-**|
||||||||
||**17**|**-**|**-**|**17**||**-**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|
||**-**|**-**|**-**|**-**||**-**|
||**17**|**-**|**-**|**17**||**-**|
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
31/01/2026
1
|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at**|**the end of the period**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Categories**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees
**B5 Liabilities**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
**B1 Cash funds**|**Details**
**Details**
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))
at Bank
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Signature|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**17**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**17**
**-**
OK
OK
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name|**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**Endowment**
**funds**
**to nearest £**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||||
|||||
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
31/01/2026
2