All the acts have now been announced for the city’s free celebration of the arts taking place soon
The Stopgap Dance Company. Image by Chris Parkes(Image: Chris Parkes)
Acrobatic robots, marching bands, outdoor circus shows and powerful art installations are gearing up for one of the region’s biggest arts festival. Hull’s Freedom Festival is poised to transform the city with its annual four-day festival, having previously unveiled this year’s bold new theme – peace.
And now the festival director has issued the full 2026 programme, offering audiences over 100 different experiences as well as the return of evening performances. 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.
It is now one of Hull’s big three most cherished annual cultural events, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to celebrate the rich tapestry of human experiences with its mix of music, theatre, visual art and performances. Peace will be embedded in the 2026 programme, which involves 32 companies from nine countries around the world, bringing circus, dance, street theatre, installations and performance to locations across Hull city centre.
Audiences will be invited to explore what peace can look and feel like today, from quiet, reflective moments to big, shared celebrations. Phil Hargreaves, festival director, said this year’s line-up has been devised to offer plenty of entertainment for all ages and interests.
He said: “We’ve programmed Peace as something audiences can experience, not just read about in a brochure. Across the weekend, people will encounter it in very different ways – watching a daring circus show with thousands of others, sharing a playful family performance, or spending time with work that asks difficult questions. It’s about making space for connection, imagination and hope in the middle of everyday life.
“Due to rising costs, the event cannot be delivered as a completely free show. However, Freedom Festival has introduced low‑cost tickets starting from just £1, keeping it as accessible as possible for local audiences.”
A highlight of this year’s programme, which runs from September 3 to September 6, is the return of a large evening event on Friday and Saturday. Audiences will experience A.I. Thentic, a new large‑scale outdoor show from Gorilla Circus, blending spectacular aerial performance with timely questions about technology and human connection.
For families and children there will be playful shows including Rhinos, Baby Brain, Lilliput and Kismat Walla. Meanwhile, deep thinkers will enjoy powerful installations such as The Hate Circuit and Through the Ruins, the moving dance work Black, and the evening spectacular A.I. Thentic, which invites audiences to sit with complex ideas in a shared space.
For those who love fun and chaos there will be the high‑energy performances from Always Drinking Marching Band with The Street is Ours, an acrobatic robot Acrobot, and the mischievous trio Tom, Tom and Tom. Circus remains central to the festival’s identity, with the gravity‑defying 10,000 Hours performing at Hull Truck Theatre, the astonishing ladder acrobatics of Beyond by Circumstances, and the dramatic wheel of death in Spinsane by Racehorse Company.
Many events in the Freedom Festival 2026 programme will be free or free‑ticketed, and time slots have been planned to ensure as many people as possible can take part.
Phil added: “Whether you come for one show or the whole weekend, there is a way into the programme for everyone. Freedom Festival 2026 is an invitation to step outside your routine, experience something unexpected and think about peace from a new angle.”
Last year’s event was enjoyed by 60,000 audience members and involved 250 participants in 148 performances. All told, artists from 40 companies descended on Hull from nine countries.
Full programme details, trailers and booking information are now available at freedomfestival.online. You can find video highlights from the 2025 festival on YouTube.