Reflecting on the past 15 years of Basingstoke Festival makes me smile. When I think about Basingstoke’s arts and culture landscape, it’s now hard to imagine it without the festival playing such a central role. It has become a staple event for the town.
The format has remained largely the same over the years: three weekends – the last two weekends in June and the first weekend in July – with some midweek events woven into a fully packed programme for those who just can’t get enough at the weekends. The aspiration for the festival has always been bold. From the outset, there were visions of a month-long programme that felt closer to a fringe or international festival, something you might associate with Salisbury, Brighton or even Edinburgh. And in many ways, Basingstoke has always punched above its weight culturally for a town of its size.
We are incredibly lucky to have such strong cultural assets: a world-class international concert hall, a national touring theatre company based in the town, a living history museum that attracts visitors from far and wide, visual artists with national profiles, and spectacular dance companies.
Over the years we’ve played with content and format. In its early days, the festival essentially brought together what was already happening in the town, strengthening and spotlighting an existing commitment to arts and culture. Now, bold outdoor arts programming sits at the heart of the festival, helping us reach new audiences while continuing to excite long-standing fans who return year after year.
I’ve been involved since the very beginning, back in 2011, when the festival was called Basingstoke Live Fringe. At that point, it was a way of highlighting other exciting events taking place alongside the music festival, Basingstoke Live. Proteus created the first-ever summer Shakespeare experience in the Walled Garden for that festival, while Fairfield Arts Centre, Central Studio, Milestones, the Willis Museum and Anvil Arts all enhanced their already packed programmes to be part of it.
That same year, when Balloons Over Basingstoke came to an end, Council and Cabinet made the decision to create a new festival for the town. The aim was to promote arts and culture locally, develop something fresh and create a new brand for the town: Basingstoke Festival. The brand has stayed remarkably consistent and we still use that same logo today.
It has grown into far more than a council place-marketing initiative. It brings together events and experiences and has become a key date in the diary for many people, with regular attendees planning their summer holidays around it so they don’t miss out on the most curious and memorable experiences, often in the most unusual places. Who remembers Ben Mill’s Boat, listening to a story on the boating lake in Eastrop Park?
I never imagined it would grow in the way it has, especially considering how little budget there was in those early days. By 2012, the festival had its own coordinator and continued to promote the rich arts programme happening across June and July in Basingstoke. End-of-year dance shows filled The Haymarket, street theatre appeared in The Malls Shopping Centre, and dance workshops by Kala The Arts were just some of the programme highlights. These elements still exist today in one form or another but back then you could feel the first signs of national artists starting to knock on the door, keen to include Basingstoke on their festival circuit.
The festival grew year on year, and by 2015 it received its first Arts Council England funding. That year saw the creation of an opening parade, working with Emergency Exit Arts and Proteus. I was involved in helping over 600 young people take part in workshops and parade through the town centre all the way to Eastrop Park. It was a long walk, especially for walkabout artists and primary school children, but the format isn’t too different from today’s opening parade.
It rained on the big festival launch day in May that year. I remember it well, partly because it was my birthday, but also because so many participants still turned up and performed despite the weather. We don’t do a launch now – we go straight in with the bang and buzz of an opening parade. What I love most about the opening parade is how it brings all sides of our community together in an event that truly shouts about arts and culture in Basingstoke. There’s always such a nice vibe, and no matter what the weather, it feels like the start of summer, which is exactly why we used that as our tagline last year. And who remembers the giant disco turtle coming up Wote Street? That was a sunny day. There was barely enough room to squeeze it into Market Place, but it showed just how powerfully the arts can enliven our town centre.
Outdoor arts have continued to shape the festival and now make up the largest part of the programme. One of the brilliant things about outdoor arts is that it’s usually free and can be totally unexpected. You can stumble across it on the high street and watch for as long as you like, then carry on shopping or head to a café for a coffee. It’s often something you wouldn’t normally buy a ticket for, but because it’s there, it sparks curiosity. Even if you don’t realise it at the time, it almost always leaves a lasting impression.
Outdoor arts doesn’t just engage new audiences; they often reach people who don’t usually get the chance to engage with arts and culture at all. From young children to retired residents, everyone can enjoy street theatre, circus, visual arts, dance or music. While many people travel long distances to attend, something we’re incredibly proud of, the festival remains rooted in its local community. Last year’s NoFit State Circus production Sabotage drew audiences from over two hours away, as it was one of the only UK runs of the show. There was something very special about Basingstoke sitting between the Biennale Internationale des Arts du Cirque in Marseille and the Galway International Arts Festival.
Many outdoor arts projects also invite audiences to take part and become performers themselves. At the council, our cultural framework guides our arts and culture strategy, and we believe it’s just as important to actively participate as it is to experience the arts as an audience member. Some people would rather watch from the sidelines, and that’s absolutely fine, but others relish the chance to join in.
One of my favourite participatory moments was Autin Dance Theatre’s Parade: The Giant Wheel. Seeing a huge hamster wheel move down London Street, powered by eight professional dancers and 20 community performers, was unforgettable. The cast ranged from Ben, aged five, to a retired performer in her seventies. This intergenerational group, from all walks of life, came together to create something that moved many audience members to tears. What else are the arts for if not to provoke that kind of response?
In 2015, Mimbre Acrobats first performed in the town with The Bench. It was the first time I’d seen Queen Mary’s College dance students perform directly in the high street, alongside professional artists they had learned from. Projects like this now feel second nature; something we see regularly but at the time it felt incredibly special.
Basingstoke Festival truly supports our place. It brings people into the Top of the Town, our shopping centres and our parks, supporting local businesses and making the town centre feel vibrant and alive. Having produced events in the town centre for over 20 years, I can honestly say it’s at its best when it’s busy and filled with exciting activity.
We’ve always spent time carefully shaping the programme, with a strong focus on reaching and expanding new audiences. I’ve loved commissioning D/deaf artists to run projects and perform outdoors at the festival. Our audiences are as diverse as Basingstoke’s population, and artists like Jeanifer Jean-Charles and Chad Taylor (last year’s highlights) have filled our streets and parks with powerful stories that reflect that diversity and enrich the festival.
The festival has also become a space to explore local, national and international issues. From climate change to migration, if there’s a story to tell through the arts, Basingstoke Festival provides a platform to share it.
So where are we now, 15 years on? Basingstoke Festival is recognised as one of the top 10 most important outdoor arts festivals in the UK. We’re known for supporting artists to develop new work and for providing supportive audiences who aren’t afraid to offer constructive feedback. We’ve helped develop local and national artists whose work now premieres at the festival before touring nationally. Artists such as Scratch Built Productions, Sarah Thomas-Lane, Junk Jodie and Pumpkin Pantos all call Basingstoke home, while taking work developed here across the UK and beyond.
We’re welcoming international artists back to Basingstoke and reaching over 12,000 people across three back-to-back weekends; a unique model that’s virtually unheard of on the festival circuit. Basingstoke’s arts and culture scene is as distinctive as the town itself.
And what’s new for 2026? We’re continuing our commitment to sustainability, ensuring the festival’s impact on climate change is minimised. Last year we introduced an eco-zone and this year we’re planning eco-experiences across an entire weekend. We’re also deepening our commitment to diversity and inclusion through a special celebratory weekend of shows and continuing to champion dance, circus and spoken-word; three artforms that remain under-accessed in Basingstoke. We are also looking to engage young people who wouldn’t normally engage in arts and culture through projects and shows that are using science, technology, or engineering. Who says that scientists can’t also be artists?
As the town launches its bid to become Town of Culture 2028, sharing the story of the pride we have in the place so many of us call home, the festival remains, for me, a brilliant showcase of why Basingstoke truly deserves such recognition. Long may residents and visitors alike continue to enjoy brilliant art, culture and live experiences right on our doorstep, and here’s to many more years of Basingstoke Festival being part of that story.
There’s much more to come over the next few months as the programme is finalised. For now, save the dates and watch this space.
Blog created January 2026.
Ross Harvie
Arts and Culture Manager
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council