Cheltenham to bring more than £100 million to the local economy

With 900 accredited journalists, 350 chefs, 250 bookmakers and 100 helicopter flights a day, it is little wonder that the famous annual Cheltenham Festival which gets under way tomorrow can claim to be the biggest jump meeting in the world.

The four-day event presented by Magners, which runs until Friday, is worth more than £100 million to the local economy of Gloucestershire in the heart of the English Cotswolds. ATM machines will be working overtime again and are likely to beat the £2.35m taken from the cash machines at the festival last year.