Some of Winchester's key figures gathered at the Theatre Royal ahead of a variety of summer festivals

The start of a summer of cultural events in Winchester was toasted with a glass of fizz and the launch of a new tourist website.

Festival directors gathered at the Theatre Royal for the informal ceremony, organised by Winchester Business Improvement District, to see the new website – festivalsinwinchester.co.uk – unveiled.

It will list the city’s key cultural festivals, old and new, by genre and date as well as identifying those that are family-friendly.

Executive director for Winchester BID, Chris Turner, said Winchester was “a city of festivals” which was fast developing “a sense of celebration”.

“Winchester has moved from being a place with a number of interesting festivals to ones which are international,” he said. “There’s a growing sense of coherence. Over the last few years we have worked hard to get the directors gathered together.

The first event of the programme is the Winchester Chamber Music Festival, which starts on April 30 and ends on May 3.