Guide to Basingstoke Festival

Are you a newbie to Basingstoke Festival? Or maybe you’ve caught the odd performance when you’ve been in town shopping in the past. We’ve put together a guide so you can make the most this year’s festival – maybe spend the day or even a weekend soaking up the entertainment.

What is Basingstoke Festival?

Heard of it but not sure what it is? Basingstoke Festival showcases international and national arts and cultural organisations alongside a number of local artists. You’ll find outdoor art performances in theatre, live music, dance, circus, acrobatics and much more in locations across Basingstoke and Deane.

The festival runs from Friday 19 June to Sunday 5 July with free street theatre over the three weekends, taking place in Basingstoke town centre and across Basingstoke and Deane. 

Whether you have just an hour or a whole day to spare, Basingstoke Festival has something for everyone. You can drop in for a single performance if you're short on time, or spend the day wandering through town and discovering a vibrant mix of outdoor arts. The Basingstoke Festival team carefully schedules performances to make it easy for you to enjoy more than one during your visit. While the weather is usually on our side, occasional rain may affect the schedule - so be sure to check the Basingstoke Festival social media pages for the latest updates. To see the full programme and plan your visit, head over to the Basingstoke Festival website.

This year’s must see acts

The fun begins on Friday 19 June with an evening of magic, music and myth at this year’s spectacular opening parade, the Parade of the Mythical Beasts. If you fancy joining the fun, then it’s best to head to Market Place by the Willis Museum to see it. Then follow the back of the parade to the Festival Place amphitheatre where the celebrations continue as Mr Wilson’s Second Liners bring the party vibe by performing 90s club classics. Tit for Tat Circus will then bring the mischief and mayhem with their new show, Disorder of Knights, ending the evening with a bang and kickstarting three weekends of fantastic festival fun!

If you miss Tit for Tat Circus on opening night then catch them again on either Saturday 20 June in the town centre or Sunday 21 June at The Green in Tadley. Also on opening weekend you can expect to Go Grandad Go and PeaPea La Plume. Local Pumpkin Pantos return this year with Alice in Wonderland, taking audiences through a topsy-turvy world with musical numbers and pantomime chaos. Catch them in Bishops Green.

Festival favourites Autin Dance Theatre will return on weekend two with Zig Zag!, a joyful performance that blends physical comedy and acrobatics using simple wooden reels. One of several new acts for this year is Pirates of the Carabina showcasing Pirate Taxi – a fabulous circus show taking place in, on and around an old-school London taxi.

During the last weekend of the festival you can catch Hydropunk by Artizani which is a multi-sensory interactive installation where performers and audiences can collaborate to create a spectacular water sculpture machine along with the return of NoFit State with their free show BAMBOO, a spectacular, high-impact, high-skill circus production.

Getting here

Basingstoke is conveniently located just off junctions 6 and 7 of the M3 and also accessible via the A339 from Newbury and Oxford and A33 from Reading. If you are travelling by train, you can direct trains from London Waterloo, Winchester, Reading, Oxford, Southampton and Portsmouth.  The train and bus stations are walking distance to the town centre ready to enjoy the festival.

For more information on getting to and around Basingstoke and Deane, visit our guide to getting around.  AccessAble has produced an accessibility guide for arriving at Basingstoke train and bus stations.

You’ll find some of the acts are outside of the town centre in Tadley, Beggarwood Park and Oakridge.

While you are here

Whether you are on your own or bringing the family you may be wondering: where can I park? Where can I eat? Or where can I find a toilet? So we’ll try and answer these for you to help you out.

There are a number of car parks in Basingstoke town centre. If you are enjoying performances at the Top of the Town the closest car parks include Joices Yard, Central Car Park and Castons Yard. You will find disabled parking bays in all of these.  If you have an electric vehicle then Feathers Yard is dedicated to electric vehicle parking only.  Details of other electric charging places can be found here. 

In need of toilets or baby change facilities? You’ll find plenty in Festival Place. Take a look at the centre map for details.  You can find details of disabled toilets here and there are changing facilities near Basingstoke Discovery Centre.

Festival Place is home to more than 20 mouth-watering eateries including Five Guys, Pizza Express and The Cosy Club. You’ll find some wonderful independent restaurants and coffee shops at the Top of the Town including Willows Coffee House. If you want to pick up food to takeaway and have a picnic you will find Sainsburys and Tesco in the town centre and Waitrose at Basing View.

Other things to do while you are here

If you have some spare time in Basingstoke town centre between enjoying performances why not take in a bit of shopping? You can find Festival Place, The Malls and The Top of Town all walking distance of each other.

Or if you’d rather enjoy the outdoors take a stroll in Glebe Gardens or War Memorial Park both within walking distance of the town centre. Eastrop Park has lots for the kids including a play park, paddling pool and boating lake.

If you want to make a weekend of it you’ll find plenty of places to visit. Just outside of the town centre is Basingstoke Leisure Park where you’ll find a swimming pool, bowling alley, cinema and indoor skydiving. If you are a culture vulture then make sure you visit The Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery which is free. The Vyne and Sandham Memorial Chapel are both National Trust properties.

Stay

If you are looking for a place to stay take a look at the hotels and bed & breakfasts in the area.

Be prepared

Basingstoke Festival is an outdoor arts festival and you can never predict the weather so you may need something for all seasons! Don’t forget your sunnies, hats and suntan lotion and an umbrella.

May 2026

Basingstoke Festival Notes

This project is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Basingstoke Festival is a partner in Without Walls, a network of organisations bringing innovative outdoor arts to towns and cities across England. Find out more on withoutwalls.uk.com.

For more information on Basingstoke Festival visit www.basingstokefestival.co.uk or follow @BasingstokeFestival on Facebook and @BstokeFestival on X and Instagram.