Comment: Time to celebrate everything Nottinghamshire, says county council leader Ben Bradley

Nottinghamshire Day is upon us. This special day which will celebrate all the great things about our county lands today.

So that everyone can get involved, we’re holding the first-ever Nottinghamshire Day Festival on Saturday. It will start the Bank Holiday Weekend in style.

The festival, which will take place at the historic Sherwood Forest area, will be an entertainment extravaganza, with 15 local music acts featuring everything from indie music to afro-pop, and acoustic sets.

This free event will have plenty of family-friendly activities, including an exhilarating combat show ‘Lionheart’ featuring Robin Hood and Maid Marian as the pair battle the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Football fanatics in attendance will get the opportunity to have a selfie with the European Cup that Nottingham Forest, under the guidance of Brian Clough, lifted twice in 1979 and 1980.

You’ll also get the chance to experience a medieval camp, try out a pony ride and meet Gizmo — a ground-breaking robot dog created by academic researchers to help protect the historic Sherwood Forest area.

The Nottinghamshire Day Festival is part two of a trio of spectacular summer events that the county council has helped bring to life by working with local partners.

We kicked off by celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The weekend was a roaring success, as thousands of residents toasted Her Majesty’s long reign at street parties across our county.

Next, after Nottinghamshire Day, is the return of the Tour of Britain to our part of the world. It will take place on Thursday 8 September. Competitors will ride from West Bridgford to Mansfield in front of cheering crowds and international media.

These events showcase Nottinghamshire, our people, our heritage, our competitiveness and our fantastic potential.

I want to give our potential the best possible outlet to succeed, and that’s why I’ve been working hard during the last several months to secure a devolution deal for the East Midlands region from government.

In practice, that means we'll be able to take more decisions about our services locally, here in Nottinghamshire, rather than things being decided for us in London.

It will also mean a huge amount of extra funding for our area that we can spend on our local priorities. That can only be a good thing.

​Devolution will result in us gaining new investment, more and better jobs, better public transport, an improved environment, and more opportunities for skills and training, among other benefits. Most importantly it will improve the lives of local people.

​It will help us to work together better to promote the best Notts has to offer in terms of tourism and events too, just like we're doing on Nottinghamshire Day.

Make sure you get out and about this summer, and enjoy our Nottinghamshire Day Festival, enjoying our spectacular summer.