Basingstoke Festival is back and this year it’s bigger and bursting with more creativity as it celebrates 15 years of bringing free outdoor arts, culture and community together across the borough.

Running from Friday 19 June to Sunday 5 July and produced by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, the award-winning festival will see free performances pop-up in Basingstoke town centre and other locations across the borough.

Audiences will be able to immerse themselves in live performances and soak up the borough’s vibrant arts offer by discovering new artists, whether with a picnic for a full day of entertainment or popping by for a performance or two.

Opening on Friday 19 June, the festival will start with a parade making its way through the Top of the Town. This year’s theme - the Parade of the Mythical Beasts - is being brought to life by Scratch Built Productions, bringing together community groups, schools, businesses and residents. There will be giant creations, live music and colourful performances as the festival officially begins.

Festival favourites Autin Dance Theatre will return with Zig Zag!, a joyful performance that blends physical comedy and acrobatics using simple wooden reels.

Pumpkin Pantos will also return this year with Alice in Wonderland, taking audiences through a topsy-turvy world with musical numbers and pantomime chaos.

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. 

Hydropunk by Artizani is a multi-sensory interactive installation where performers and audiences can collaborate to create a spectacular water sculpture machine. 

Gandini Juggling's You Too Can Tutu will feature two ambitious characters determined to create the world’s first juggling-ballet in this tongue-in-cheek mash up.

Mr Wilson's Second Liners will debut at Basingstoke Festival with the band leading the parade and entertaining the audience whilst they settle in for the parade finale.

Tit for Tat Circus’s new show A Disorder of Knights will be premiering at the festival, bringing a distinctive mix of juggling, comedy and acrobatics.

Company DHW will present Go Grandad, Go!, which is a heart-warming, inter-generational hip-hop theatre show, inspiring the young and not so young to get involved.

Local companies Scratch Built Productions and Junk Jodie will also be performing at the festival, following support from the council’s Creative Incubator Fund. Family-friendly The Magical Toy Hospital offers audience participation, while those feeling crafty can join Junk Jodie’s Fashion-IFFICENT and take their creations to the catwalk.

There will be much more on offer, including comedy, circus skills, interactive installations, poetry, rap and storytelling. Full schedules for each weekend will be available on the festival website and social media.

Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Culture Cllr Kerry Morrow said: “This year’s fantastic line-up of artists ready to surprise and spark imaginations is the perfect way to celebrate 15 years of Basingstoke Festival.

“While we wait to hear on our bid to become the UK’s first ever Town of Culture, this year’s festival provides a great opportunity to come together and enjoy the creativity and fun that makes Basingstoke and Deane so special.

“From big and bold performances to unexpected moments of magic, I can’t wait to see audiences of all ages soaking up everything the 2026 Basingstoke Festival has to offer.”

More information about Basingstoke Festival and how residents and visitors can take part is on the website at www.BasingstokeFestival.co.uk or on social media channels @BasingstokeFestival on Facebook and @BstokeFestival on Instagram. 

Basingstoke Festival is part of Without Walls, a network of organisations bringing innovative outdoor arts to towns and cities across England. There is more information at www.WithoutWalls.uk.com.