At the end of 2025, the Victor Hugo Centre team are taking a moment to look back and reflect on how far we have come over the last 12 months. The project is gaining real and tangible momentum, and 2026 promises even more.
Some events have become a regular part of the calendar - the Victor Hugo birthday party on 26th of February has become an opportunity for us to meet with and thank our friends and supporters; a celebration of World Poetry Day in the early spring at the Guille Alles Library has a focus on including local school pupils and lovers of the spoken word; Arts Sunday in June is a key opportunity to reach out to new audiences. All three of these events were much bigger in 2025 than in previous years, with many more attendees, requiring larger venues and a larger birthday cake!
The Victor Hugo Centre hosted Baroness Chakrabarti in April at the Guernsey Literary Festival who spoke on her new book, Human Rights – The Case for the Defence. She spoke passionately about the on going need for the protection of human rights and social justice, a subject that forms part of Victor Hugo’s impressive legacy.
In May, we launched the Victor Hugo Trails, to encourage people to learn more about Hugo and his exile in Guernsey. The two linked trails, sponsored by Moore Stephens, span 8km which takes in Town, starting at the building on the North Plantation which will house the Victor Hugo Centre and ending at Fermain Bay, via La Vallette. The plaques along the way contain quotations in English and French from Victor Hugo’s work and showcase the artwork of local artist James Colmer.
The trails were an immediate success – the Tourist Information Centre quickly ran out of our first print run of leaflets, due both to local support and to the increase in tourist numbers from France that Guernsey has experienced this year due to improved sea links. Victor Hugo is a strong part of the appeal of our island to the French visitor market, and it was heartening to be a part of this success for local tourism.
From March to June there was a fabulous exhibition at the Royal Academy, London entitled Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo. This gave an opportunity to view drawings by Hugo that are rarely on public display. Members of the Victor Hugo Centre team were excited to be invited to the preview and took the opportunity to promote the connection between Guernsey and the famous author, whilst also appreciating such fabulous art.
We collaborated with The Victor Hugo in Guernsey Society on producing an event in September to celebrate the only Oscar nominated movie to be filmed in Guernsey, The Story of Adèle H. 50 years since the film was released, we invited two experts to speak on the film and Adèle Hugo, created a short documentary celebrating the memories of local people who were involved in the production, and screened the film to a full house. The Princess Royal Theatre was a fantastic venue for the day. Many thanks to all who were involvedin this successful event.
The culmination of the year’s activities was a celebration dinner held at the OGH in November, to mark the donation of a specially commissioned bust of Victor Hugo created by renowned sculptor and fashion designer Nichole Farhi. This bust shows Victor Hugo as he was when he first arrived in Guernsey, as a relatively young man of 53 years, beardless and energetic. On the evening we were treated to a magnificent performance of songs from Les Misérables by GADOC, showcasing local talent. At this event we were happy to announce that we had raised a total of £6.5 million towards the construction of the centre, a major fundraising milestone. Since the event, generous islanders have donated or pledged another £500,000.
In 2026, we look forward to hosting and supporting further exciting and innovative events and making progress towards our fundraising target.
The Victor Hugo Centre team has enjoyed working with many local organisations, and being part of Guernsey's vibrant arts scene. We especially thank - The Guille-Alles library, Guernsey Literary Festival, Guernsey Arts, Arts for Guernsey, Visit Guernsey, Guernsey Museums, Royal Academy of Arts, The Victor Hugo in Guernsey Society, GADOC, James Colmer, Spike Media Productions, Paul Chambers, Saffery Champness, Moore Stephens, and the Old Government House hotel.
Laura Harrison