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The Biggest Festivals to Look Forward to After Lockdown

The pandemic put a lot of things on hold last year with festivals and other events being cancelled that we were all looking forward to. Due to the June 21st date for lifting lockdown being delayed by a month, some of the festivals below may be subject to change.

Here are the biggest festivals both locally and nationally to look forward to when lockdown is set to end on the 19th of July.

Creative Hull Festival

Fri 16th – Sun 18th July, Hull city centre

Absolutely Cultured, the company behind events such as Urban Legends, will be bringing Creative Hull to the city this summer. Photo credit: Tom Arran.

Absolutely Cultured are the team which derived from the 2017 City of Culture group after our year in the spotlight was over. Well they’re back with a new festival as soon as lockdown restrictions are lifted. Creative Hull will see installations and performances taking place all over the city in disused shops and buildings, outdoor spaces, existing venues and online.

The programme will include Hull-based company Middle Child Theatre, exhibitions at Humber Street Gallery including In My Room by artists Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, and Pride in Hull will be hosting a pop-up hangout safe space. Sounds fun! More info on the Absolutely Cultured website.

Tribfest

Fri 20th – Sun 22nd August, Sledmere House, Driffield | Website

One of the earliest announcements for festivals making a return was Tribfest which was definitely missed last year. It’s one of our favourite local festivals and the quite possibly the biggest music festival for tribute bands in the world. The festival will be taking place in August so there’s a good chance that face masks and social distancing will be over by then. It will feature tribute bands performing the music of huge musical acts, such as Oasis, Meat Loaf, AC/DC, Queen, ABBA, and so many more!

Tickets available here

Cottingham Folk Festival

Thurs 26th – Sun 29th August, Cottingham Civic Hall & The Back Room

The Folk Festival has been going for a good few years now so it’s great to see it make a comeback in 2021. The festival line-up features Terrorvision, Badly Drawn Boy, This Is The Kit, Ferocious Dog, The Wandering Hearts, Holy Moly and the Crackers, Will Varley, Kathryn Williams, Smoke Fairies, Gaz Brookfield, Native Harrow, and apparently there’s more to be announced later.

More info and tickets available on the official Cottingham Folk Festival website.

Freedom Festival

Expected Fri 20th August – Sun 5th September (TBC), Hull city centre

This famous Hull festival is known for bringing together culture and art in stunning and diverse displays all through the city every year. On the official Facebook page in February, Freedom Festival confirmed it will be back this year but the dates are yet to be confirmed.

Freedom Festival will be back in 2021. We’re looking forward to filling the streets and venues of Hull again. We…

Posted by Freedom Festival Hull on Wednesday, 10 February 2021

In previous years, it’s been the first weekend of September so keep your diaries open for Friday 3 – Sunday 5 September. Like in previous years, most of the events will take place for FREE across Hull city centre, but some events could be ticketed. Keep an eye on their website here.

Humber Street Sesh

Expect early August (TBC), Hull Marina

Without doubt, this is the biggest music festival in Hull’s event calendar and it was sadly missed last year during the pandemic. If you don’t know already, Humber Street Sesh is a festival which takes place down at Hull Marina and celebrates Hull’s local musicians, as well as emerging bands from all over the UK.

Dates are yet to be confirmed for 2021, but it’s very, very likely to go ahead and likely to be in August. Tickets aren’t available yet but you can get more information on their website here.

Further afield…

If you don’t mind a bit of travel, there are plenty of big UK festivals also make a return this year…

Comedy in the Park

Sat 26th June – Sun 12th September

Comedy in the Park is a unique live comedy event that takes place outdoors, and it brings together some of the biggest names in comedy all onto one stage. Performing this year, the comedy acts include (but not limited to) John Bishop, Katherine Ryan, Paul Chowdhry, James Acaster, Judi Love and Dara O Briain. This year there will be several events in seven different venues.

Tickets are available here

The Great Yorkshire Show

Tue 13th July – Fri 16th July

For the first time in history, the Great Yorkshire Show will be going on for four days straight! This show is organised and run by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and is a fun way for us to enjoy the farming industry which Yorkshire was built on. It showcases action horses (stunt performers), has competitions for a variety of from animals, and even teaches equestrian classes.

Tickets will be available after 1 June and you will only be able to buy tickets ahead, so keep on eye on this page for more information.

Latitude

Thurs 22nd July – Sun 25th July

This summer, the Latitude Festival will be going ahead at full capacity for you to celebrate. In the picturesque countryside retreat of Hallam Park, Suffolk, this music festival will be the headline of your holiday. There will be huge names like Lewis Capaldi, Bastille and Snow Patrol, as well as more acts that are yet to be announced.

Tickets are available here

Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

Thurs 22nd July – Sun 25th July

The ‘Home of Crime Fiction’ is welcoming you back this summer as the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is coming back to Harrogate. There will be lots of entertaining panels, a chance to hear from some of the greatest crime authors, and some acclaimed Special Guests to keep the fun going.

Tickets haven’t yet gone on sale but their website is here to keep an eye on.

Tramlines

Fri 23rd July – Sun 25th July

Tramlines is Sheffield’s pride and joy, which started out as a free event to become one of the biggest festivals in the north east. Only less than a mile from Sheffield’s city centre, Tramlines will be taking place in Hillsborough Park and will feature great artists on every day, including The Streets, Royal Blood and Richard Ashcroft.

Tickets are available here

Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival

Sat 24th July – Sun 25th July

Celebrating its official 5th Birthday, this year The Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival will be returning to Skipton for a food and fun filled weekend. There will be live celebrity demonstrations from The Hairy Bakers and James Martin, workshops and masterclasses, crafts activities, tasting sessions, a vintage funfair, lots of activities for the kids, exhibitors, and some of the UK’s best street food!

Tickets are available here

Proms

Fri 30th July – Sat 11th September

The BBC Proms will be taking place this year in the Royal Albert Hall, but you can also watch/listen on BBC Radio 3, BBC TV and online. The Proms is a renowned event for displaying classical music. Details for the festival will be announced soon.

Tickets are available here

Reading

Fri 27th – Sun 29th August

Considered one of the best music shows ‘on the planet’ (if they do say so themselves) the Reading festival is famous for the huge names in music that perform there every August. This year, they have got stars on their line up every day, including Stormzy, Post Malone, and Liam Gallagher.

Tickets are available here

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