Mr. David Blenkinsop

Mr David Blenkinsop, Director of the Festival of Perth, was awarded the insignia of Officier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) by the French Ambassador to Australia, Mr Dominique Girard, in Perth on February 26 .
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Mr Blenkinsop has been Director of the Festival of Perth for some 23 years.Over this period he has welcomed more than 70 French companies to Perth, making the Festival of Perth the most Francophile festival in Australia.

Through Mr Blenkinsop the festival has developed a number of strong cultural ties with France, in particular with several major French festivals, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Embassy in Canberra and the Alliance Française.

Under his guidance the Festival of Perth has grown to become the festival of international renown that it is today.

The ceremony was attended by over 180 friends and colleagues at the Alliance Française de Perth.

Copies of the speech delivered by the French Ambassador are available by clicking on this link.

Canberra March 8, 1999

with David Blenkinsop, Director of the Festival of Perth, AustraliaOdessa Philharmonic Orchestra - Photo Gallery
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with David Blenkinsop, Director of the Festival of Perth, Australia

In 1984 the Director of the Festival of Perth, David Blenkinsop, asked the Horgans to under-write the considerable cost of bringing out the London Philharmonic Orchestra for an Australian tour.