One of Sir Elton John’s most famous and best-loved albums is providing the inspiration for an arts and literature competition in Watford.

The music legend and former Hornets chairman released ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ 50 years ago and Watford Area Arts Forum are now challenging you to interpret this iconic album in any art form or in writing.

You could use the titles of the individual tracks which include ‘Candle in the Wind’, ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and ‘Sweet Painted Lady’. Or, you may wish to use the artwork by author and illustrator Ian Beck on the album cover as inspiration? You can put any slant on your entry as long as it has some relevance to the ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ album.

Voting will initially be online by the public, with the top ten in each category being passed to an external judge for the final decision.

The winners of each of the competitions will receive The Harrington Trophy and a £50 cash prize, second prize is £30, and third is £20 donated by Watford Borough Council.

Mr Beck will be the final judge for the art competition, while Mick Callanan, delivery director for the Orwell Youth Prize and an English teacher for 30 years, will judge the final top ten in the writing challenge.

The results will be announced on Saturday, June 24 and presentations will be made to the winners of the competitions in both categories at Watford Museum.

The competition will form part of a larger celebration of the album’s anniversary, including events to be held at the Watford Fringe Festival, from September 22 to October 8, 2023.

Entries for the art challenge can be in any form – oils, watercolours, pen and ink, collages, photographs etc.

They can now be submitted in photo form for online voting, but entries will need to be taken to Watford Museum on Wednesday, June 7, from 11am to 3pm.

To take part in the writing challenge, you will need to come up with 500 words based on the themes in the tracks on the album, the artworks or any inspiration from ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’.

This could be in the style of a factual or fictional story, or maybe a poem, a short play, or monologue.

The deadline for entry is midday on Friday, June 2, with online voting taking place from June 7 when the entries will go on display at the museum.

Entries must be a minimum of 300 words in length.

Full entry details and rules are at www.watfordwriters.org or www.watfordareaartsforum.com. Queries should be referred to contact@watfordarts.com