Derby Festé 2025: Here’s what you need to know
Wed 24 Sep 2025
Derby Festé returns on Saturday 27 September with a vibrant mix of circus, dance, and interactive theatre for all ages, in the heart of the city.
The free outdoor festival will have a spectacular line-up of free, outdoor performances featuring a diverse range of shows from local talent and leading UK and international artists.
The main programme runs from midday until 6pm and all the locations for Derby Festé are centrally located, within a 5-10 minute walk from each other.
Cathedral Green and Derby Market Place will host most of the performances, with others at Cathedral Square, Derby Museums, Derby Market Hall, Osnabruck Square and QUAD – there will even be some roving around the Cathedral Quarter!
There are too many fantastic performances to list, but some of the highlights include:
- Race Horse Company: Spinsane – a contemporary circus performance with spectacular wheel of death acrobatics
- Pirates of the Carabina: Pirate Taxi – live music, humour, a mechanically ingenious set, and extraordinary aerial performance in, on and around an old London taxi
- Hikapee: Everywhere’s a Beach – a charmingly ridiculous performance for the whole family taking place on a giant revolving beach parasol
- Bedlam Oz: Big Mob – A captivating roving performance featuring giant slinkies!
Make sure you catch our fantastic local artists in action – Derby-based Maison Foo and Hubbub Theatre will be bringing their own unique performances to the programme.
Each performance will take place two or three times throughout the day, so you don’t have to miss a thing! The majority of acts are suitable for all ages, while a few are recommended for older children (6+ to 8+) right up to adults.
Tom Dale Company’s Surge VR is an immersive experience where audiences are free to move around the space both physically and digitally to explore their spatial environment. The 15-minute sessions take place at QUAD from midday until 6pm, are suitable for ages 8+ and accessible for those in wheelchairs. Booking through the Derby Festé website is advised, but walk in slots will be available on the day.
The Festé programme is highly accessible to audience members with additional needs, with many performances completely non-verbal and some featuring British Sign Language and Makaton.
Details of every performance, including timings, locations, age suitability and accessibility information, are available on the Derby Festé website. There will also be printed programmes available on the day.
The fun doesn’t stop with the main programme – the Derby Festé Fringe will have a host of events presented by our cultural partners to keep the entertainment going into the evening, including an after-party with Soul Sunset at Derby Market Hall.
Check out the Derby Festé Fringe programme to see what’s going on at Derby Market Hall, Artcore, Baby People, the Museum of Making, Derby Theatre and Dubrek Studios! Plus QUAD will be celebrating its 17th birthday with a host of events including the launch of three new exhibitions, live music, a film programme and games.
Getting to Feste is easy. Most events and performances are a few minutes’ walk from Derby Bus Station. The closest Derby City Council car parks are Chapel Street, Bold Lane and Darwin Place, which are within five minutes of Festé locations. There is also on street and disabled parking available – full details are on our website.
Derby Festé is proudly presented by Derby City Council with project grant support from Arts Council England National Lottery funding. Festé is delivered in partnership with FABRIC, the Midlands strategic dance development organisation, with additional support from Cathedral Quarter Derby, Derby Museums and QUAD.
Look out for Derby Festé on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.
