Culture, Entertainment and Sport

The annual open-air concert at Darley Park is one of the biggest free concerts of its kind. The Derby Jazz group caters for the jazz interest in the city and is regarded as one of the UK’s leading live jazz organizations. There is also a summer rock music festival ‘Ponce in the Park’ which takes place in late July every year.

Derby Arboretum was the first public park in the country, and is thought to have been one of the inspirations for Central Park in New York. Although it suffered from neglect in the 1990s, it has recently undergone extensive improvement and renovation.

Other famous Derby institutions include Derby County Football Club, currently playing in the Football League Championship. Derby County won the First Division title (then the highest achievement in English football) in 1972 and 1975. The Rams, as Derby County are known, also won the FA Cup in 1946.