Hull’s Freedom Festival transformed the city with its annual acrobatics on Saturday, as the four-day festival got into full swing. Robots, marching bands, outdoor circus shows and powerful art installations were all on the set list for the region’s biggest arts festival. The festival adopts a bold new theme this year – peace.
This year, evening performances returned to the bill, with over 100 acts set to entertain. Peace is embedded in the 2026 programme. Some 32 companies from nine countries around the world, consisting of circus, dance, street theatre, installations and performance are taking to Hull city centre. All performances and events are held in different areas of Hull.
There was plenty for the kids to do, with interactive games and obstacle courses provided as part of the event. Families took advantage of the September sunshine and descended on Hull @ the Dock and other venues in the city to see some of the free shows.
Some performances were moved “due to circumstances outside of our control”, the Freedom Festival’s social media announced on Saturday morning. Shows such as Before It’s Gone, Babel, Bring Me Sunshine, Dream Deliveries, The World Wanderer, Quingo Starlequinn and Garbh changed location, and, in some cases, their start times were also changed. Those with tickets or those hoping to catch these shows are encouraged to keep an eye on the Freedom Festival’s Facebook page.
The event – organised by the Freedom Festival Arts Trust – was first launched in Hull in 2007 to commemorate the bicentenary of the 1807 Slave Trade Act and honour the legacy of local reformer William Wilberforce. The event began on September 3 and concludes tomorrow (Sunday, September 5) with evening performances scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
Full programme details, trailers and booking information are still available at freedomfestival.online. Many performances are free with a selection being free-ticketed. You can find video highlights from the 2025 festival on YouTube.
Photos by Donna Clifford for Hull Live.
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