Get ready for Riverside, Leicester’s largest free festival
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Preparations are well under way for Leicester’s largest free festival, when more than 60,000 people will head into the city for music, arts and family-friendly fun.
Hundreds of artists, performers and traders will take part in the Riverside Festival across multiple stages and sites, ensuring there is something for everyone.
This year’s event will feature longer opening hours, a new location for the main stage and a whole host of interactive activities - and it all takes place on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June.
Activities will be spread along the River Soar’s Mile Straight, as well as on Bede Park, the De Montfort University campus and at Castle Gardens. Across all festival locations, there will be a wide range of international street food, licensed bars, craft markets and stalls, and walkabout entertainers.
For the first time, the festival’s main stage will be in a new location at the heart of Bede Park, providing a central focal point for the festival’s many musical performances – and they’re all free. Local talent will take centre stage, encompassing a huge range of musical genres and styles, and the programme will run up until 8pm on Saturday and 7pm on Sunday,
extended from previous years.
On the water, visitors can enjoy boat rides, kayaking sessions, dragon boat racing (Sunday only), and a pop-up art gallery along the waterside.
This year, Riverside Festival is also benefitting from additional funding from Arts Council England, helping more people to join in with hands-on activities, live shows and workshops, so that families, young people and communities can get creative and get involved.
Experience pop-up poetry with Literati Arts, help to create street art with Graffwerk, design your own clothes in upcycling workshops, and explore immersive virtual reality experiences with Metro Boulot Dodo.
Arts Council funding is also supporting the involvement of four Young Producers this year who will be working alongside the festivals and events team to deliver this year's event, providing a great hands-on opportunity and insight into the planning and work required to deliver the festival.
Assistant city mayor for culture Cllr Vi Dempster said: “We’re very proud of the Riverside Festival – it is a real summer highlight in Leicester, and a great chance for people to enjoy a huge range of activities and entertainment, much of it free.
“This year’s extra funding from Arts Council England means more interactive entertainment for everyone and more opportunities for us to support local artists, young producers and emerging creative talent.
“Among all the highlights, I’m delighted to welcome back Metro Boulot Dodo with a virtual reality experience, as I’m sure lots of people will remember enjoying their spectacular projection onto Leicester Cathedral at Light Up Leicester last year.
“Whether you’re a performer, trader, musician or festival visitor, we look forward to welcoming everyone to Riverside.”
For more details, visit the dedicated website at visitleicester.info/riverside-festival, where you’ll find a full programme, festival map, travel and accessibility information.
Leicester City Council News - 07/05/26
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