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
- 5 Feb Festivals Forum: Funding and Local Partnerships, Manchester
- 6 Feb Writing the Outdoors: Symposium, 101 Creation Centre, Newbury
- 7-9 Feb Writing the Outdoors: Writers Lab, 101 Creation Centre, Newbury
- 8-10 Feb Devoted & Disgruntled 15: What are we going to do about theatre and the performing arts?, London
- 8-16 Feb Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama, Japan
- 9 Feb Exploring Dance & Circus – Masterclass with Levantes Dance Theatre, Plymouth
- 14 Feb The Circular Economy: Sustainable Practices, London
- 25 Feb Circulate Open Doors, Sea Change Arts, Great Yarmouth
- 25-26 Feb The Event Production Show, Excel London
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