The UK is famous for its vibrant and varied festivals, with events for everyone’s tastes and interests. While some festivals can be expensive, the UK also has many free festivals that offer great entertainment without costing a penny.
These free festivals showcase music, arts, food, and community activities, highlighting the UK’s rich culture and strong community spirit. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the most popular and unique festivals across the country, including music festivals and various free events in London.
Northern Ireland: Belfast Pride Festival
🌍 Where: Belfast
📅 Date: Friday 19th July – Sunday 28th July
🎉 Info: Belfast festival is said to be the biggest event of the year for LGBTQIA+ people of Belfast. The festival runs from Friday through to Sunday with Pride Day and the centrepiece Pride Parade taking place on the Saturday. The theme for Belfast Pride 2024 is ‘Love Your Mind.’ The highlight of Belfast Pride is the vibrant parade through the city centre, featuring colourful floats, costumes, music, and dance. It draws thousands of spectators each year.
Worcester: Upton Blues Festival
🌍 Where: Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire
📅 Date: Friday 19th July – Sunday 21st July
🎉 Info: The Upton Blues Festival is an annual music event held known for its lively atmosphere and diverse line-up, the festival attracts thousands of visitors each year, making it one of the largest free blues festivals in the UK. The festival features a wide array of live blues performances across multiple stages. Performances take place in various venues around the town, including pubs, clubs, and outdoor stages.
Northern Ireland: Red Sails Festival
🌍 Where: Portstewart
📅 Date: Sunday 21st July – Saturday 27th July
🎉 Info: The Red Sails Festival is a vibrant week-long event full of fun and free activities for everyone. Organised by the dedicated volunteers of the Portstewart Community Association, it offers seven days with packed music, dance, workshops, children’s entertainment, and a grand fireworks display. This years line-up features The Rhythm Rascals, Willie Drennan Ulster Scots Folk Band, Wilson Magwere Band and many more.
Northumberland: South Tyneside Summer Festival
🌍 Where: South Tyneside
📅 Date: June/July/August
🎉 Info: The South Tyneside Festival is an annual celebration offering a diverse array of events and activities throughout the summer months. This popular festival attracts both locals and visitors, providing entertainment and cultural experiences for all ages. The festival is known for its free concerts, featuring performances by well-known artists and local talent. Some of this years acts include Sister Sledge, Haircut 100, Jason Donovan, and Sigala.
Wales: The Caerphilly Cheese Festival
🌍 Where: Caerphilly Town Centre
📅 Date: Saturday 31st August – Sunday 1st September
🎉 Info: The Caerphilly Cheese Festival is an annual event held in Caerphilly, Wales, celebrating local cheese and other regional produce. It’s a two-day event including different types of entertainment and activities such as live music, food and drink stalls, a funfair and more.
Reading: Pride
🌍 Where: Reading
📅 Date: Saturday 31st August
🎉 Info: Reading Pride, known as “Love Unites”, is an annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community held in Reading. The event features a variety of entertainment across multiple stages, including live performances, a funfair, family-friendly activities, and lots of food and market stalls.
Billingham: Festival of Thrift
🌍 Where: Billingham
📅 Date: Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd September
🎉 Info: The Festival of Thrift is an annual event celebrating sustainable living, creativity, and community. It takes place in the town of Billingham, located in the northeast of England, and aims to inspire people to live more resourcefully and reduce their environmental impact. It aims to educate and inspire attendees to adopt more sustainable lifestyles by showcasing practical and creative way to reduce waste and conserve resources.
Free events in London
London: Notting Hill Carnival
🌍 Where: Notting Hill, London
📅 Date: Sunday 25th August – Monday 26th August
🎉 Info: The Notting Hill Carnival is a vibrant and historic annual event celebrating Caribbean culture and traditions. Held in the streets of the Notting Hill neighbourhood in London, it typically takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, spanning over two days. The carnival is renowned for its colourful and elaborate parades featuring dancers, musicians, and performers in costumes. The Sunday of the carnival is designated as Family Day, featuring a children’s parade with young participants in costumes, making it a more family-friendly event.
London: Totally Thames Festival
🌍 Where: Central London
📅 Date: Throughout September
🎉 Info: Totally Thames is an annual celebration of arts and culture held throughout September, featuring unique and diverse activities on, beneath, and along the River Thames. Established in 2014, Totally Thames evolved from the highly successful two-day Thames Festival, which took place along the South Bank and Bankside from 1997 to 2013. This month-long event spans the 42-mile stretch of the Thames, thanks to collaborative efforts with artists, local communities, river-focused organisations, and businesses.
London: The Cally Festival
🌍 Where: Caledonian Road, London
📅 Date: Sunday 7th July
🎉 Info: Caledonian Road, one of London’s most dynamic neighbourhoods, hosts the annual Cally Festival, a one-day celebration showcasing the best of the area. Festival-goers can enjoy music, performances, art, activities, and creative workshops. The road transforms into a bustling street market filled with delicious food and unique items for sale. Leading up to the festival, various exciting art projects bring together local arts organisations, residents, and businesses. The community collaborates to create decorations, artworks, food, and performances.
London Pride
🌍 Where: Central London
📅 Date: Saturday 29th June
🎉 Info: London Pride is a huge parade that runs through central London and celebrates the LGBTQ+ community. It’s one of the largest and most vibrant Pride celebrations in the world, attracting hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators each year. While London Pride is a celebration, it’s also an important platform for advocacy and raising awareness about LGBTQ+ issues. The event often features speeches and presentations from activists, politicians, and community leaders who highlight ongoing challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and call for action on issues such as discrimination, legal rights, and social acceptance.
Free events in Scotland
Scotland: Edinburgh Fringe Festival
🌍 Where: Edinburgh
📅 Date: Friday 2nd August – Monday 26th August
🎉 Info: For three weeks in August, Edinburgh transforms into a hub of global creative energy. Artists and performers take to hundreds of stages across the city, offering shows to suit every taste. Venues range from traditional theatres and concert halls to unconventional spaces like bars, parks, buses , and shipping containers. Edinburgh Fringe Festival add colour, excitement, and vibrancy to outdoor areas. The festival features a wide array of live performances, spanning every genre from theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, and children’s shows to musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions, and events.
Scotland: Youth Beats
🌍 Where: Dumfries
📅 Date: Saturday 29th June – Sunday 30th June
🎉 Info: The Youth Beatz Fringe Festival will take place in the lead-up to the Youth Beatz Main Days, featuring events in each Ward area. The Fringe offers activities for young people and their families throughout the region. These events are designed by young volunteers, focusing on providing free and geographically accessible opportunities for communities across Dumfries and Galloway.
If you’re looking for more freebies and fun things to do this summer, head over to our Free and Cheap Activities for the Kids guide.
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