Outdoor Arts Listings 2020 (pre-Covid)

This was a regularly updated list of 2020 festivals, performances and programmes which included some element of Outdoor Arts. Initiated before the Covid-19 pandemic, it then became a record of cancellations or rescheduled events. We now have new pages for events which are happening – online or live.

FESTIVAL & EVENT LISTINGS

Jan

8 Jan-2 Feb London International Mime Festival
8-26 Jan Sydfest, Sydney, Australia
16 Jan Light Night, Worcester
16-25 Jan Canary Wharf Winter Lights, London
17-19 Jan The Western Australian Circus Festival
18 Jan RISE (Brent 2020), Wembley Park
18 Jan Lantern Making Workshop, Tunbridge Wells
19 Jan Lantern Making Workshop, Tunbridge Wells
22 Jan-1 Mar Lightopia Festival, Chiswick House, London
23 Jan-16 Feb Bread&Circus World Buskers Festival, Christchurch, New Zealand
24-27 Jan Auckland Buskers Festival, New Zealand
25 Jan Lantern Making Workshop, Tunbridge Wells
26 Jan Chinese New Year Parade, London
26 Jan Lantern Making Workshop, Tunbridge Wells

Feb

1 Feb Lantern Making Workshop, Tunbridge Wells
8 Feb Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture Opening Ceremony
8 Feb Tunbridge Wells Winter Lantern Parade
1-23 Feb Copenhagen Light Festival
1-23 Feb Light Up Cheltenham
6-9 Feb Winter Light Festival, Reykjavík, Iceland
7-8 Feb Light Night Nottingham
7 Feb Plankton at Nottingham Light Night
7 Feb-1 Mar Perth Festival, Australia
7-8 Feb Grow Festival, Corby
7-16 Feb CirkusMania, Stockholm, Sweden
9-15 Feb Cirkopolis, Prague
13-15 Feb Love Light Festival, Norwich
14-23 Feb Festival of Light, Westquay Southampton
16-17 Feb STRTFSTVL, Utrecht, Netherlands
20-22 Feb Light Up Poole
21 Feb Illuminate Oldham
23-25 Feb Binche Carnival, Belgium
28 Feb-8 Mar Spring Dance Festival, Oxford
28 Feb-15 Mar Adelaide Festival, Australia

Mar

1 Mar St David’s Day Parade, Cardiff
5-8 Mar Light Up Leicester
5-8 Mar Liberty UK Festival, Leicester
5-22 Mar Izmir International Puppet Days, Turkey [Selected cancellations]
7 Mar Spilsby Light Night
7 Mar Digital Light: Code Makers at Bletchley Park
6-9 Mar ‘As the World Tipped’ (Wired Aerial), WomAdelaide, Australia
8 Mar st-ARTS Festival, Netherlands
8 Mar Ragadawn, Nimmo’s Pier, Galway, Ireland
13-17 Mar Dublin St. Patrick’s Festival, Ireland
13-17 Mar Cork St. Patrick’s Festival, Ireland [Cancelled]
14-17 Mar Savage Beauty, Galway, Ireland [Cancelled]
14-17 Mar ‘Circus Devilment’ (Tumble Circus) Dublin, Ireland [Cancelled]
15 Mar London St. Patrick’s Day Festival [Cancelled]
17 Mar Waterford St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Ireland [Cancelled]
17 Mar Sligo St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Ireland [Cancelled]
17 Mar Galway St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Ireland [Cancelled]
17 Mar Limerick St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Ireland [Cancelled]
17 Mar Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Ireland [Cancelled]
17 Mar Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Ireland [Cancelled]
21 Mar ‘A Practically Perfect Picnic’ (Appetite), Stoke-on-Trent [Rescheduled: tbc]
25 Mar Artwalk, Wakefield [Cancelled]
26-27 Mar Wakefield Fire Garden (Walk the Plank) [Rescheduled: tbc]
26-29 Mar Not Quite Light Festival, Salford [Rescheduled: 24 Oct]
26-29 Mar Mostra Igualada, Spain [Suspended]
27 Mar-14 Jun Festival Tweetakt Utrecht, Netherlands [Cancelled]

Apr

4 Apr Streets of Battle [Cancelled]
10-12 Apr City of Wings, Ypres, Belgium [Cancelled]
10-13 Apr Freemantle Street Arts Festival, Australia [Cancelled]
18-19 Apr Sandbach Transport Festival [Postponed]
19 Apr Mela in the City, London [Cancelled]
23-26 Apr Sismògraf Dance Festival, Spain
25 Apr Streets of Bexhill [Cancelled]
25 Apr Atmosphere Festival, Worcester [Cancelled]

May

1-3 May Puppet Theatre Fair of Lleida, Spain [Rescheduled: 8 July]
1-31 May Brighton Fringe [Postponed]
1-3 May Lyme Regis Fossil Festival [Postponed]
1-3 May Ansan Street Arts Festival, Ansan, South Korea
1-9 May Galway Theatre Festival [Cancelled]
2 May Streets of Battle [Cancelled]
2-3 May Sweeps Festival, Rochester [Cancelled]
2-17 May Wye Valley River Festival [Postponed: Autumn]
2-24 May Brighton Festival [Cancelled]
8-9 May Hereford River Carnival [Rescheduled: 4-5 Sep]
8-10 May River Festival Liverpool [Cancelled]
8-24 May Wandsworth Arts Fringe [Cancelled]
8-24 May Norfolk & Norwich Festival [Cancelled]
9-17 May Get Creative Festival, UK (#GetCreativeAtHome)
17 May The Great British Baarat, Liverpool
13-17 May Festival Les 3 Elephants, Laval, France
12-17 May Festival Cluny Danse, France [Cancelled]
14-17 May Umore Azoka, Spain [Cancelled]
14-17 May Fira Trapezi Reus, Catalonia, Spain
14-17 May AND Festival, Manchester River Canal [Postponed]
15 May Light Night Liverpool [Postponed]
16 May Focus on Rainham [Cancelled]
16-24 May Festival Internacional de Teatro y Artes de Calle, Valladolid [Rescheduled: August]
16 May-14 Jun Nottingham Puppet Festival [Postponed: tbc]
20-31 May Edinburgh International Children’s Festival [Cancelled]
22 May-7 Jun Bath Fringe [Virtual]
22 May-6 Jun Salisbury International Arts Festival [Cancelled]
23 May Family Day at Edinburgh International Children’s Festival [Cancelled]
23 May Streets of Bexhill [Cancelled]
23 May Oldham Festival of Transport [Postponed]
24 May Canal Festival Time Machine, Scotland
28-31 May Imaginarius, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal [Cancelled]
28 May-29 Jun Grenoble Street Arts Fest, France
29-30 May Buzzcut Festival, Glasgow [Postponed: tbc]
29 May-7 Jun B-Side Hip Hop Festival, Birmigham [Postponed: tbc]

Jun

1-24 Jun Birmingham International Dance Festival [Postponed: tbc]
3-7 Jun Carlow Arts Festival, Ireland [Cancelled]
2 Jun-11 Jul LIFT Festival, London [Cancelled]
6 Jun Wentworth Festival, Rotherham [Postponed: 2021]
6-7 Jun ‘Jingah!’, Nottingham Puppet Festival [Postponed: tbc]
6-7 Jun Leicester Riverside Festival [Cancelled]
6-7 Jun Art in the Park, Milton Keynes
9-14 Jun tête-à-tête International Street Festival, Rastatt, Germany [Cancelled]
10-28 Jun Waterloo Festival, London [Moved online]
11-14 Jun Eden Festival, Lockerbie [Rescheduled 2021]
12-14 Jun Holmfirth Arts Festival [Postponed: 18-20 Sep]
12-21 Jun Cork Midsummer Festival, Ireland [Cancelled]
12-21 Jun Oerol, Netherlands [Postponed: tbc]
12-21 Jun Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania [Rescheduled 2021]
13-14 Jun Dickens Festival, Chatham [Cancelled]
17 Jun-9 Jul ‘The Tempest’, Shakespeare in the Squares, London [Postponed: tbc]
18-21 Jun La Strada, Bremen, Germany [Cancelled]
18-28 Jun Barnaby Festival Macclesfield [Postponed: tbc]
19 Jun-4 Jul Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, London [Postponed: 28 Aug-12 Sep]
19 Jun-4 Jul BE Festival, Birmingham [#BeAtHome festival – 6-17 May]
21 Jun Manchester Day
24-28 Jun Glastonbury Festival [Cancelled]
24-28 Jun Offbeat Festival, Oxford [Cancelled]
26-28 Jun Festival Vivacité, France
26-28 Jun Imagine Watford [Cancelled]
26 Jun-5 Jul Bradford Literature Festival
26 Jun-12 Jul Basingstoke Festival [Cancelled]
27 Jun-12 Jul Irish Aerial Dance Fest, Letterkenny, Ireland [Cancelled]
28 Jun Focus on Walderslade [Cancelled]
30 Jun-4 Jul Cratère Surfaces, Alès, France [Certain postponements: Autumn 2020]

Jul

1-19 Jul Buxton Festival Fringe
2-5 Jul Merchant City Festival, Glasgow [Cancelled]
3-26 Jul Festival d’Avignon, France [Cancelled]
3-5 Jul Timber Festival, Feanedock [Postponed: 2-4 Jul]
3-5 Jul Hat Fair, Winchester [Cancelled]
3-6 Jul Kelburn Garden Party. Scotland [Postponed: 2021]
4 Jul trAction Crewe, Cheshire [Postponed: 2021]
4-5 Jul Surge Festival, Scotland [Postponed]
5 Jul Cowley Road Carnival, Oxford [Carnival at Home]
5-19 Jul T100 Walking Festival, UK [Postponed: 12-27 Sep]
6-11 Jul Disrupting the Norm Festival, Worcester
8-12 Jul Henley Festival [Postponed]
10-12 Jul Bradford Festival [Rescheduled 29-31 aug 2020]
10-12 Jul Brazilica Festival, Liverpool [Cancelled]
11 Jul St. Leonard’s Festival
11 Jul The Kilburn High [Rescheduled: 2021]
11 Jul Happy Streets Festival, Nine Elms, London [Postponed: Spring 2021]
13 Jul TILT Festival, Birmingham [Rescheduled: 12th-18th July 2021]
16-19 Jul Latitude Festival [Cancelled]
17-19 Jul Bristol Harbour Festival [Cancelled]
17-26 Jul IF: Milton Keynes International Festival [Postponed: tbc 2021]
18 Jul Taunton Live Art Festival [Rescheduled 17 Jul 2021]
18 Jul Bridgwater Quayside Festival, Somerset [Postponed: tbc 2021]
18-19 Jul Dundee Summer Streets Festival [Cancelled]
18-19 Jul Birmingham Mela [Cancelled]
18-19 Jul Lambeth Country Show, London [Cancelled]
19 Jul Fleetwood Festival of Transport [Cancelled]
20-21 Jul The People’s Tower by Olivier Grossetête
24-26 Jul Cirque Plus, Bruges, Belgium [Cancelled]
25 Jul-1 Aug Passage Festival, Helsingør/Helsingborg, Denmark-Sweden
30 Jul-2 Aug Camp Bestival [Cancelled]
30 Jul-2 Aug Kendal Calling, Cumbria [Cancelled]
30 Jul-2 Aug Stockton International Riverside Festival [Cancelled]
31 Jul-9 Aug Wells Carnival [Cancelled]

Aug

1 Aug Leicester Caribbean Carnival
6-16 Aug Theaterfestival Boulevard, Netherlands [Postponed: 2021]
6-16 Aug Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland [Cancelled]
7-14 Aug Malmöfestivalen, Sweden
8-9 Aug Luton Mela
9 Aug Loughborough Mela
12-16 Aug Boomtown Fair, Winchester [Postponed: 2021]
15-16 Aug Gloworm Festival, Thoresby Park [Postponed: 2021]
19-22 Aug Festival d’Aurillac, France [Cancelled]
20-23 Aug Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons [Postponed: 2021]
21-23 Aug Just So Festival, Cheshire
23-30 Aug Spoffin Festival, Amersfoort, Netherlands [Cancelled]
25-26 Aug Newcastle Mela
27-30 Aug Shambala Festival
28 Aug – 12 Sep Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, London [NEW DATES]
28-31 Aug Greenbelt Festival, Kettering [Postponed: 2021]
28-31 Aug Towersey Festival [Postponed: 2021]
29-30 Aug London Mela
29-31 Aug Journeys Dance Festival, Rother
30-31 Aug Notting Hill Carnival, London [Cancelled]
30-31 Aug Devizes International Street Festival
31 Aug Leeds Carnival Parade

Sep

1-30 Sep Totally Thames, London
2-6 Sep Freedom Festival, Hull
4-5 Sep Hereford River Carnival
5-13 Sep b-side festival, Portland [Postponed: 2021]
6 Sep Festival of the Sky, Cleethorpes
10-13 Sep FiraTàrrega, Spain
12-13 Sep Festival of Thrift, Redcar
11-27 Sep Inside Out Dorset Festival [Postponed: 2021]
12 Sep All in the Mind Festival, Basingstoke
12 Sep Will Adams Festival at Gillingham Park, Kent
13 Sep Arts Fresco, Market Harborough
18-20 Sep Holmfirth Arts Festival [NEW DATES]
18-20 Sep Lancashire Encounter
18 Sep-18 Oct Estuary, Thames Estuary
19-20 Sep Out There Festival, Great Yarmouth [Cancelled]
25-26 Sep Derby Festé
25-27 Sep Arts by the Sea, Bournemouth

Oct

3-4 Oct Fun Palaces, UK
7-9 Oct FreshStreet #4, Turin, Italy
9-11 Oct Hiddendoor, Edinburgh
10 Oct Hastings Borough Bonfire Night
10 Oct-1 Nov Magic Woodland, Cheshire
15-18 Oct Fira Mediterrània de Manresa, Spain
16-25 Oct Bloomsbury Festival
24 Oct Not Quite Light Festival, Salford
28 Oct-1 Nov Spill Festival, Ipswich

Nov

12-15 Nov National Circus Festival of Ireland, Tralee

Dec

4-5 Dec Dunster by Candlelight

PROFESSIONAL & SECTOR LISTINGS

Jan

15-16 Jan Tax Return Clinic for Theatre Professionals, BAC, London
18 Jan-15 Feb Park Pioneers, Walk the Plank, Manchester
20 Jan Circus Snapshot, Salford
20-23 Jan Shedonism, 101 Creation Centre, Newbury
22 Jan Shedonism Maker Jumble & Social, 101 Creation Centre, Newbury
25-29 Jan All Womxn Acrobalance Lab, 101 Creation Centre, Newbury
26-29 Jan Internationale Kulturbörse, Freiburg
28 Jan-7 Apr The Poetic Body: Physical Theatre Intermediate Course, Facciocose, London
30 Jan Delivering Creative Projects with Looked After Children and Young People, Liverpool
30-31 Jan Drawing Metaphor & Meaning in Circus, Ockam’s Razor, London
31 Jan Circus Snapshot, Derby
31 Jan-2 Feb John Wright: Smiling with a Crooked Face, 101 Creation Centre, Newbury

Feb

Mar

4 Mar Without Walls Digital Surgeries, London
11 Mar Born at Devoted & Disgruntled, celebrating International Women’s Day, Liverpool
9 Mar Without Walls Digital Surgeries, Birmingham
10 Mar Without Walls Digital Surgeries, Manchester
10 Mar XtraX Outdoor Arts Meet Up, Manchester
11-13 Mar Devising for Theatre Crash Course, The Mono Box, London
13-14 Mar Towards a Greener Carnival, Bristol
13-15 Mar For the Love of It, Salford
16-21 Mar Blind Summit Theatre: Extreme Puppetry Training, Toulouse [Postponed]
19 Mar Be a Trustee, Leeds
20 Mar Making Political Theatre with Communities, Collective Encounters, Liverpool [Cancelled]
23 Mar BCP Cultural Collective Conference, Poole [Postponed]
25 Mar Radar: Budget Lines, London [Online event]
25 Mar Cultural Diversity in Leadership Seminar, Milton Keynes
25 Mar Explore International Touring for Outdoor Artists with XTRAX, London [Postponed]
26 Mar Pride of Place, Hereford [Cancelled]
27 Mar Circulate Open Doors, Sea Change Arts, Great Yarmouth [Postponed]

Apr

4 Apr Plugged Audio & Visual Workshop (Addictive TV), London
6-8 Apr Places in Particular, Durham [Cancelled]
10-12 Apr Trade Fair, City of Wings, Ypres, Belgium [Cancelled]
16-17 Apr European Federation of Professional Circus Schools’ Annual Conference, Centre des Arts Du Cirque Balthazar, Montpellier
20-24 Apr DIY Your Own Show, The Mono Box, London
21-23 Apr Circostrada CS LAB#5, Manchester [Online]
23 Apr In Situ ACT Conference, Brussels, Belgium [Cancelled]
25-26 Apr Physical Theatre Intensive, The Outbound Project, London
30 Apr-3 May IETM Tromsø Plenary Meeting [Cancelled]

May to Dec

2-3 May Tessa Bide Puppetry Intensive, Bristol
19 May Creative Nation 2020, London [Postponed]
24-25 May Imaginarius PRO, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal
10-13 Sep FiraTàrrega Pro Programme, Spain
16-17 Sep Festival and Outdoor Show, Stoneleigh, UK
7-9 Oct Fresh Street #4, Turin, Italy