Bristol's Festival Scene

Bristol festivals draw huge crowds year on year - from commercially run events like Tokyo World Festival in Eastville park to free (and community minded) events like Trinity Garden Party and St. Paul's carnival. There are a string of multi-venue festivals (in the style of Sonar in Barcelona) around the Stokes Croft area including Simple Things and Rave on Avon. Simple Things has expanded somewhat in the last few years and taken over the city's flagship venue, Colston Hall.

As well as music festivals, Bristol's deep historical connection to street art is celebrated in day events like Upfest. Centred around the recently created (and unofficial) street art district - North Street - you can spend the day watching apartment blocks getting a new lick of paint from head to toe. Truly a festival not to be missed!

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Our recent festival recommendations

London Recruits is an edifying slice of transnational solidarity, revealing the untold tale of a secret axis of resistance against the South African apartheid government. Armed with explosive suitcases of ANC leaflets and rigged cassette players, guerilla ‘tourists’ brought hope to an ailing and brutally suppressed domestic movement. This is historical revisionism on film! Bristol Radical Film Festival 2025 - London Recruits at The Cube.

Sell out warning! A theatrical deep dive into the troubled life and interlocking mythos of the grand inquisitor of gothic horror. Providence lends H. P. Lovecraft’s often controversial human existence the appropriate dose of on-stage mysticism, with lashings of vaudeville comedy and plenty of beyond-the-grave guidance from Edgar Allan Poe. Providence — The Shadow Over Lovecraft at Loco Klub.

Free entry! The sonic soldering gremlins at Machina Bristronica curate their first expo of playful futurism jam packed with sound sculptures, sci-fi performance art, data mapping and speculative cyborgs. Expect live circuitry and loose ferric tape weaving a vision of our assured Mad Maxian evolution. ANIMA: An Interactive Sonic Exhibition at KIT FORM.

Part of the Fashion in Film Festival’s GROUNDED season. Artist Jeannette Ehlers is joined by curator Karen Alexander to discuss Ehlers’ video works exploring Black hair as a symbol of identity, heritage, and resistance. Using hairstyles like cornrows and afros, the work connects personal expression to wider histories of Danish colonialism and cultural survival. Cartographies of Memory at Arnolfini.

What our editors say

“Next year, we’re welcoming a slightly bigger community, unveiling a brand new wellbeing area, and offering a rich mix of fresh and already adored dance workshops. Ah, and of course, the unforgettable club night sessions too! The farm is ready to host us once again for what promises to be a truly sensational celebration of movement and togetherness. One and only festival of this kind :)”
From: Dancing Body Festival 2026

“Immerse yourself in the enchanting celebration of Imbolc, an ancient Celtic festival that blossoms from the rich roots of pre-Christian Britain. Celebrated by many modern neo-pagans today, Imbolc marks the sacred midpoint between the winter solstice and the arrival of spring, falling on February 1st and 2nd. The name "Imbolc" translates to "in the belly of the Mother," symbolizing how the seeds of new life are beginning to stir deep within Mother Earth’s embrace.”
From: Imbolc Blessings & Rituals - The Making a Brigid Doll

“Afrika Eye is an annual film and arts festival founded in 2005 in Bristol, England, that has become the biggest celebration of African film in the south west! Running across multiple Bristol venues , the programme includes screenings of features, shorts and documentaries by filmmakers from, or with roots in, Africa along with insightful post screening discussions.”
From: Afrika Eye Film Festival - Timbuktu

“Afrika Eye is an annual film and arts festival founded in 2005 in Bristol, England, that has become the biggest celebration of African film in the south west! Running across multiple Bristol venues, the programme includes screenings of features, shorts and documentaries by filmmakers from, or with roots in, Africa along with insightful post screening discussions.”
From: Afrika Eye Film Festival - The Anchorage of Time

“Presented by Asian Arts Agency as part of New Sounds Festival; a celebration of contemporary South Asian music at Bristol’s leading arts venues this November. This will be a dynamic music festival showcasing the vibrancy of contemporary South Asian music via live performances, workshops, screenings and interactive spaces.”
From: Roopa Panesar ATMA