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Brighton Festival

Photo of the Brighton Festival Children's Parade taken by David Matthews

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Festivals in Brighton

Brighton & Hove is a City of Festivals with an eclectic annual programme of events including Paddle Round the Pier; Brighton Pride and Burning the Clocks.

The main month for Festivals in Brighton is May as the Brighton Festival; Brighton Fringe; Artists Open Houses and the Great Escape take place in the city centre and in Sussex there’s the Elderflower Fields and Charleston Festivals too!

Each weekend in May there will be a special Festivals in Brighton information booth at Brighton Station – pop along, say hi and get all the top tips on the best events happening that weekend.

Brighton Festival

This year’s Guest Director is visual artist David Shrigley and there will be opportunities to see several of his pieces throughout the programme including Life Model II at Fabrica and a new commission -Problem in Brighton – a alt rock/pop pantomime. We’re also delighted to see that work from former guest directors Hofesh Schecter and Michael Rosen. Other highlights include a Gilbert & George exhibition at Brighton Museum and National Theatre of Scotland’s Adam, the remarkable true story of a young trans man and his journey to reconciliation. As always the Festival will open in spectacular style with the Children’s Parade.

Brighton Fringe

The Fringe continues to grow with over 1000 events taking place at 100s of venues across the city. The festival is open-access meaning literally anyone can take part so expect the unexpected as anything goes! Fringe City and the Family Picnics are back again this year and new for 2018 is the Freedom Season with more event s being fully accessible to everyone, whatever their needs. Popular pop-up venues the Spiegeltent and The Warren will return and the Tours programme gives you a chance to get out & about and see the city in a new way.

Artist Open Houses

Every weekend in May over 1000 artists exhibit their work in 200 venues across the city and beyond. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet the artists and buy directly from them, it’s also a chance to get a sneak peek inside some lovely houses and possibly pick up some interior design tips along the way! A lot of the houses also sell tea and cake to help keep you going as you walk around different areas of Brighton & Hove.

The Great Escape

This is the place to catch the next big thing with over 450 emerging artists performing in city centre venues – all of which are within easy walking distance of each other. Past performers have gone on to become huge stars including Adele; George Ezra; Royal Blood and Rag 'n' Bone Man. Acts to look out for in 2018 include Mist; Mostack; Stella Donnelly and Ten Tonnes.

The above is just a snapshot of what's happeing this May. For more details on the above as well as the other fantastic festivals in Brighton throughout the year, browse the listings below or use the search bar at the top of the page.

Number of results:

Number of results: 16

Sort By: A-Z Lowest A-Z Highest

City Reads 2018

Dates:

From:

23 Apr 2018to13 May 2018

Location:

Various Venues
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1EE

Type:

Literature

One City. One Book. A thousand conversations….

More info for City Reads 2018
The Brighton Tap Takeover 2018

Dates:

From:

27 Apr 2018to29 Apr 2018

Location:

Various Pubs in Brighton
Revealed soon
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1EE

Type:

Festival

Brighton will be the centre of the beer world once again this April, when the third annual Brighton Tap Takeover (https://www.taptakeover.co.uk/) takes place in the city, from April 27-29.

More info for The Brighton Tap Takeover 2018
The Warren

Dates:

From:

3 May 2018to3 June 2018

Location:

St. Peter's Church
York Place
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 4GU

Type:

Festival

Brighton's favourite multi-venue fringe festival hub is back! Theatre | Comedy | Cabaret | Family Shows & more. 3 May to 3 June 2018

More info for The Warren
Brighton Fringe 2018

Dates:

From:

4 May 2018to3 June 2018

Location:

Various locations
Brighton
E Sussex
BN1 1EE

Type:

Festival

Brighton Fringe is England’s largest arts festival and one of the largest fringe festivals in the world. We set out to stimulate, educate & entertain a diverse range of people through a diverse range of art forms.

More info for Brighton Fringe 2018
Foodies Festival 2018

Dates:

From:

5 May 2018to7 May 2018

Location:

Hove Lawns
Hove
East Sussex
BN3 2WN

Type:

Festival

Back by popular demand, Foodies Festival, the UK’s biggest celebration of food and drink, returns to Hove Lawns on the 5, 6, 7 May Bank Holiday with a mouth-watering summer event, which this year includes the launch of a brand new Musicians Against...

More info for Foodies Festival 2018
Brighton Festival 2018

Dates:

From:

5 May 2018to27 May 2018

Location:

Various locations
Brighton
E Sussex
BN1 1EE

Type:

Festival

We are delighted that the Guest Director for Brighton Festival 2018 is the Brighton-based visual artist David Shrigley

More info for Brighton Festival 2018
Artists Open Houses Festival 2018

Dates:

From:

5 May 2018to6 May 2018

From:

12 May 2018to13 May 2018

From:

19 May 2018to20 May 2018

From:

26 May 2018to27 May 2018

Location:

Various venues across the city
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 1TW

Type:

Festival

Expect to see a wide range of art including jewellery, ceramics & textiles, paintings, sculpture, printmaking, photography and many other media whilst also having the opportunity to chat directly with the artists.
Free, various opening times

More info for Artists Open Houses Festival 2018
The Great Escape Festival 2018

Dates:

From:

17 May 2018to19 May 2018

Location:

Various Locations
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1EE

Type:

Music

The Great Escape is the festival for new music, showcasing 450 emerging artists from all over the world in 30+ walkable venues across the city. It’s the first place to discover your new favourite artist and see them in an intimate setting before...

More info for The Great Escape Festival 2018
Charleston Festival

Dates:

From:

18 May 2018to28 May 2018

Location:

Charleston
Firle
Lewes
East Sussex
BN8 6LL

Type:

Festival

This year’s Festival of literature, art and ideas is a cultural cornucopia.
There will be plenty of opportunity to join in, meet the speakers at the City Books stall and hang out in the Charleston garden, cafés and bar. Don’t miss out!

More info for Charleston Festival
Brighton Vegan Summer Festival

Dates:

From:

2 June 2018to3 June 2018

Location:

The Leval
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 9SY

Type:

Festival

Vegan Summer Fest Brighton is a huge outdoor vegan celebration at the Level Brighton with 100 fantastic stalls each day, 10 world food caterers, inspirational talks and innovative cookery demos, yoga, children's activities, circus skills, all day...

More info for Brighton Vegan Summer Festival
Klezmer South: Brighton 2018

Dates:

From:
10 June 2018

Location:

Brighton and Hove High School
Montpelier Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 3AT

Type:

Festival

Come and play, sing and dance with international faculty and have a walk on the sunny Brighton seafront!
A day's Workshop of Klezmer music, dance and Yiddish song with internationally acclaimed leaders and performers. Open to all.
10th June 2018,...

More info for Klezmer South: Brighton 2018
Brighton Bear Weekend 2018

Dates:

From:

14 June 2018to17 June 2018

Location:

Various Venues
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 1TW

Type:

Special Events

Four days of bears, fun and frolics by the sea!
Various events - see the website for more information

More info for Brighton Bear Weekend 2018
Hotdog and Cider Festival 2018

Dates:

From:

6 July 2018to7 July 2018

Location:

The Level
Union Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 9SY

Type:

Festival

8,000 people will descend to the Level over the course of these two days to experience the ultimate Hot Dog and Cider lovers paradise.
A range of entertainment is scheduled from live bands and tribute acts, to Hot Dog Eating Competitions and sausage...

More info for Hotdog and Cider Festival 2018
Brighton Pride 2018

Dates:

From:

4 Aug 2018to5 Aug 2018

Location:

Various locations
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 1EN

Type:

Festival

For 2018’s ‘Colour My World’ we are returning to the rainbow flag’s original eight colours of pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet representing, respectively: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, and spirit.

More info for Brighton Pride 2018
Fiery Foods Festival 2018

Dates:

From:

14 Sept 2018to16 Sept 2018

Location:

British Airways i360
Lower Kings Road,
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 2LN

Type:

Festival

An annual celebration of spicy foods and the chilli particular. Loads of stalls selling chilli and spicy foods with hot food stalls from all over the world. Live music all weekend and the famous chilli-eating competition at the end of each day.......

More info for Fiery Foods Festival 2018
Boundary Brighton

Dates:

From:
29 Sept 2018

Location:

Stanmer Park
Stanmer Village
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 9QA

Type:

Festival

Taking the best of Brighton’s creative energy, lust for life and generosity of spirit, Boundary Brighton is a festival with three stages of music, a vintage fair, delicious local food and other unexpected treats, all nestled between the crest of the...

More info for Boundary Brighton

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