Organisers have confirmed today, Wednesday, that next year’s Rhythms of the World festival in Hitchin will be staged over the midsummer weekend.

The grounds of Hitchin Priory will once again play host to the community arts and music festival, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 20 and 21.

That’s more than a month earlier than this year’s festival, which saw more than 20,000 people flocking to the two-day celebration at the beginning of August.

The event has already scooped one award – from Creative Hertfordshire for community involvement and innovation – and has been nominated in two categories in the UK Festival Awards, for best medium-sized festival, and for best toilets.

Amy Hopkins, who chairs the charity which stages the event, said: “We were determined to build on the success of the 2014 festival and it’s great to be able to announce the 2015 date now.

“We will all be working hard for the next few months to bring news of artists, ticket prices and other developments as soon as we can and we hope we can encourage lots of sponsors, advertisers, traders and volunteers to get involved early.”

Hitchin Priory general manager Thierry Viatge said: “We’re already making plans to welcome Rhythms of the World back to Hitchin Priory and the team are really looking forward to it.

“We’ve also agreed dates for future festivals because the board at Chartridge Venues, which owns Hitchin Priory, are delighted to support such a great community event.”

Applications to volunteer for Rhythms of the World 2015 are always welcome and there are a number of roles throughout the year, as well as those on the weekend itself, when it’s all hands to the pump. To find out more go to www.rotw.org.uk/contact.

If you’d like to vote for RotW in the UK festival awards, go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z85F2BB.