Events, Festivals and Exhibitions

Festivals in the UK

Discover amazing world festivals, events and exhibitions
 
  • The Motive and the Cue

    The Motive and the Cue, Noel Coward Theatre

    Jack Thorne's new play The Motive and the Cue, starring Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton, and directed by Sam Mendes will run at the Noel Coward Theatre from 9 December

    £20
  • Once Upon a Time in the West 800

    Sergio Leone & Once Upon a Time in the West

    Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London, presents Sergio Leone's timeless classic spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West at the Barbican Cinema 1 on 10 December. Wootton looks

  • Mark Rylance, London Film Festival 2023

    London Short Film Festival (LSFF) 2024

    Founded in 2003, the London Short Festival (LSFF) is a an independent short film festival. In January the LSFF presents some 250 to 500 UK and international shorts, as well

  • Othello

    Othello, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

    teide observatory tenerife

    Othello, at The Globe's Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in an intimate candle lit ambience that befits Shakespeare's tempestuous play, is directed by Ola Ince and stars Ken Nosu. It runs from

    £5 – £62
  • Judith Godwin Green for Danger, 1982

    Expressions of Life: Judith Godwin

    Expressions of Life is the first solo exhibition by Judith Godwin in Europe. It will run at the Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London from 26 January to 9 March, 2024.

  • © Estate of Jeremy Moon. Courtesy the estate and Luhring Augustine, New York.

    Moon / King, Thomas Dane Gallery

    polar bear unsplash

    A new exhibition featuring the work of Philip King and Jeremy Moon, entitled Moon / King, the Work and Friendship of Phillip Moon and Jeremy Moon, 1956 to 1973 runs

  • The Glass Heart

    The Glass Heart, Two Temple Place

    The Glass Heart is an exhibition exploring the art of glass in the UK which is held at Two Temple Place gallery in London from 27 January to 21 April. This major London exhibition ...

    Free
  • Entangled Pasts 1728-now Review

    Entangled Pasts Review, Royal Academy of Arts

    Entangled Pasts, 1768–now, Art, Colonialism and Change is an exhibition running at the Royal Academy of Arts from 3 February to 28 April 2024. Entangled Pasts...

    £22
  • Beyond Form

    Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950 – 1970

    The Turner Contemporary presents Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950 to 1970, a group exhibition about abstraction as a global language shared by women artists...

    Free
  • King Lear

    King Lear Review, Almeida Theatre

    William Shakespeare's tragedy about age and betrayal comes to the Almeida Theatre from 8 February to 30 March. King Lear will be directed by Yaël Farber, and stars Danny Sapani

    £12.50 – £60
  • Unravel Barbican

    Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art

    Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art shines a light on artists from the 1960s to today who have explored the transformative and subversive potential of textiles. It

    £18
  • Dreams Have No Titles

    Dreams Have No Titles, Zineb Sedira

    Whitechapel Gallery 77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London, Select a State or Province:, United Kingdom

    Dreams Have No Titles, a solo exhibition by Zineb Sedira, will be shown for the first time in the UK at the Whitechapel Gallery, London from 15 February to 12 May. The exhibition was conceived ...

    £12.50
  • Issam Kourbaj: Urgent Archive

    Issam Kourbaj: Urgent Archive

    IMG_2025

    Urgent Archive is the largest art solo exhibition by Cambridge-based artist Issam Kourbaj who was born in Syria in 1963. Kourbaj has been chronicling the conflict in his native country

    Free
  • Angelica Kauffman, Self-portrait at the Crossroads between the Arts of Music and Painting, 1794. . Photo: © National Trust Images/John Hammond

    Angelica Kauffman, Royal Academy of Arts

    The Royal Academy of Arts celebrates Angelica Kauffman in an exhibition in the Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler Wing this spring. Angelica Kauffman Kauffman (1741-1807) was a founding member of

    £15
  • The Last Temptation of Christ - credit BFI National Archive

    Italian Neorealism and BFI Retrospectives

    IMG_0671

    From March to June, the BFI Southbank will have a series of retrospectives as well as a programme of Italian Neorealism. The retrospectives will be on Gene Tierney, Victor Erice

  • People Places and Things Low Res Press Realese Image Photography © Matt Humphrey

    People, Places and Things, Trafalgar Theatre

    People, Places and Things starring Denise Gough runs at the Trafalgar Theatre in London from 3 May to 10 August. Duncan Macmillan’s play is directed by Jeremy Herrin. The original

    £20
  • Foodies Festival

    Foodies Festival 2025, Various, UK

    Various Birmingham, United Kingdom

    Since Foodies Festival was started with the Foodies Festival Edinburgh in 2006, it has grown into what the organisers claim is the largest food and drink festival in the UK.

    varies
  • Théâtre de la Ville-Paris, Mary Said What She Said, credit Lucie Jansch

     Mary Said What She Said, Barbican Centre

    CABARET. The Company. Photo Marc Brenner

    Isabelle Huppert returns to the Barbican Theatre for the UK premier of Robert Wilson’s Mary Said What She Said for a limited run in May 2024. A Théâtre de la Ville’s production,...

    £25
  • Chelsea Flower Show

    RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

    Royal Hospital Chelsea Royal Hospital Road, London, United Kingdom

    RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the world's most famous horticultural show, returns from 22 to 24 May, 2025. As the climate crisis bites it affects gardeners and nature in numerous ways.

    £16.85
  • Blacklash, 1964 - Ed Clark

    Ed Clark, Turner Contemporary Margate

    The Turner Contemporary in Margate is presenting an exhibition of the work of Ed Clark from 25 May to 1 September. The exhibition will include work never before seen outside

    • Interested in Festivals in the UK?

    There are thousands of festivals in the UK ranging from the weird to the mundane. Some of the more famous include the Chelsea Flower Show and the Edinburgh Fringe, but we Brits are prepared to celebrate anything and everything, even watercress.

    UK Music Festivals and Carnivals

    Music is a key element in many a festival, with festivals specialising in music from rock to contemporary, including Glastonbury, the Isle of Wight Festival and Womad. If in London on the last weekend in August, be sure to head to the Notting Hill Carnival - the biggest party in the capital.

    Food Festivals in the UK

    Outside of music, food is the most common thing celebrated at UK festivals, from the Ludlow Food Festival to the Malton Food Festival and even the Alresford Watercress Festival. Summer is the best time for foodies to visit the UK, as there are seemingly food events each weekend, catering to all tastes and fads.
    Literary Festivals
    Another more niche element is the literary of book festival. One of the leading literary events is the Hay Festival. Although you will find literary and book festivals popping up all over the kingdom, including the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

    Fringe Festivals

    The Edinburgh Fringe held in the Scottish capital in August, is the most notable UK fringe festival, but there are other fringe festivals up and down the land, including the Ventnor Fringe on the Isle of Wight.The above is just a snippet of all the special events in each and every corner of the UK. With so much on offer, make sure you check out our event pages to ensure you include one of the UK’s many festivals on your UK holidays.