Royal Greenwich Festivals
Royal Greenwich Festivals is our flagship grants programme that supports the delivery of our first Cultural Strategy: Our People, Our Culture, Our Future
We fund festivals that are free to attend and take place over the summer months in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
We're look for high-quality, exciting, accessible festivals that engage with local community groups and showcase local content, performers and suppliers to help celebrate our diverse communities.
All festival programmes include workshops or activities and live performances or events.
Applications for 2025 are now closed.
2025 Grant recipients
Plumstead Make Merry Association
Festival name: 50th Anniversary of Plumstead Make Merry
Plumstead Make Merry celebrates its 50th anniversary with an extravaganza of live music, dance and drumming performances, food and community stalls, sports and crafts workshops.
Date: Saturday 7 June
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: Plumstead Common, SE18 1QJ
Arts Trust Productions
Bring your picnic blanket and gather your friends and family for a vibrant community event featuring folk music, street arts, creative arts, food and craft markets.
Festival: Summer in the Park
Date: Sunday 29 June
Time: 1pm to 6pm
Venue: Maryon Park, Charlton, SE7 8EN
July
Arts Trust Productions
Bring your picnic blanket and gather your friends and family for a vibrant community event featuring folk music, street arts, creative arts, food and craft markets.
Festival: Summer in the Park
Date: Saturday 5 July
Time: 1pm to 6pm
Venue: Gallions Park, Thamesmead, SE28 0HJ
Black Female Entrepreneur Greenwich (BFEG)
There will be a carnival amid Eltham's PARKSfest, which includes masquerade mask workshops, a fashion show, an Afrobeat dance competition, cultural food tastings, and pop-up market stalls.
Festival name: African Masquerade
Date: Sunday 6 July,
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, Eltham Park South, SE9 1AH
The Bold Melon Collective
Festival: Give or Take performance and workshops
A family friendly live performance and collage workshop from local LGBTQIA+ artists.
Date: Sunday 6 July,
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, Eltham Park South, SE9 1AH
TARU Arts
Festival: Kidbrooke Carnival
Kidbrooke carnival returns with a spectacular parade with music, dance, and food and community stalls and TARU’s much-loved drumming!
Date: Saturday 12 July
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: Pegler Square and Cator Park, SE3
Black Female Entrepreneur Greenwich (BFEG)
Festival name: Nigerian Cultural Festival
BFEG’s festival joins Kidbrooke Carnival, with masquerade mask workshops, fashion show, Afrobeat dance competition, cultural food tastings and pop-up market stalls.
Date: Saturday, 12 July,
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: Kidbrooke Carnival, Pegler Square and Cator Park, SE3
Black Female Entrepreneur Greenwich (BFEG)
Festival name: African Masquerade
A carnival amid Bostall Gardens PARKSfest, with masquerade mask workshops, a fashion show, an Afrobeat dance competition, cultural food tastings and pop-up market stalls.
Date: Sunday 13 July
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, Bostall Gardens, Abbey Wood, SE2 0TQ
The Bold Melon Collective
Festival: Queer Migrations exhibition
LGBTQIA+ artists explore the theme of 'Queer Migrations' in this innovative exhibition.
Date: Monday 14 July to Sunday 10 August
Time: 10am to 5pm
Venue: Firepit Arts Gallery and Studios, Greenwich, SE10 0XX
The Bold Melon Collective
Festival: Queer Migrations opening event
Queer Migrations' exclusive exhibition launch will include live music, performances, and a Q&A session.
Date: Thursday 17 July
Time: 7 to 9pm
Venue: Firepit Arts Gallery and Studios, Greenwich, SE10 0XX
BME Volunteers
Festival: Greenwich Food Festival
A celebration of food, culture, and community, with cooking competitions, food tastings, visual arts workshops, and advice on supporting local health and wellbeing initiatives.
Date: Saturday 26 July
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: Glyndon Community Centre and Green, Plumstead, SE18 7LB
August
Arc & You
Festival: Nigerian Cultural Finesse
An afternoon of cultural displays, dance, seminars, theatre, and the showcase of a new documentary on Nigerian and British culture.
Date: Saturday 2 August
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: Highbrook Road Open Space, Kidbrooke, SE3 9QL
Arc & You
Festival: Nigerian Cultural Finesse
An afternoon of cultural displays, dance, seminars, theatre, and the showcase of a new documentary on Nigerian and British culture.
Date: Saturday 9 August
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: The Middle Park at Middle Park Avenue, SE9 5SE
Arc & You
Festival: Nigerian Cultural Finesse
Enjoy an afternoon of cultural displays, dance, seminars, theatre, and the showcase of a new documentary on Nigerian and British culture.
Date: Saturday 16 August,
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: Abbeywood Park, Abbey Wood, SE2 9QQ (new location)
Festival.org
Festival: Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) Above and Beyond
Opening the festival’s 30th anniversary with a UK premiere, French parkour artists Cie Lézards Bleus (France) will give a performance of heart-stopping, roof hopping. Gaze up in awe as eight performers embark on a breathtaking journey across landmark buildings in Woolwich. With new music by Roma Yagnik and a finale set from Citizens of the World Choir.
Date: Friday 22 August,
Time: 7pm
Venue: Beresford Square Woolwich, SE18 6AR
Arc & You
Festival: Nigerian Cultural Finesse
Saturday 23 August, 12 noon to 6pm
Eaglesfield Park, Eaglesfield Road, Shooters Hill, SE18 3BX
Enjoy an afternoon of cultural displays, dance, seminars, theatre, and the showcase of a new documentary on Nigerian and British culture.
Festival.org
Festival: Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) Greenwich Fair
Family-friendly street theatre, circus, dance and games, in a packed programme of 12 raucous shows framed by the best view of London.
Date: Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August,
Time: 1pm to 7pm, various shows all day
Venue: General Wolfe Piazza, Observatory Hill, Greenwich Park, SE10 8XJ
Festival.org
Festival: Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) Turning Worlds
This year’s GDIF theme, 'Above and Beyond', is interpreted through a series of four trailblazing collaborations between engineering, technology and performance.
Date: Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August,
Time: various times
Venue: Design District Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0SQ
September
Festival.org
Festival: Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) Fragment of Us
Celebrating the endless possibilities of Black masculinity, this world premiere performance by leading Black theatre company Talawa with acclaimed Black dance company Fubunation, directed by award-winning artist Sonia Hughes features fluid movement and poignant poetry to reveal snapshots of joy, struggle, love and loss.
Date: Thursday 4 September
Time: 4pm and 6:30pm
Venue: General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH
Festival.org
Festival: Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) Go Grandad, Go!
This joyous celebration of intergenerational family relationships and Caribbean culture by company DHW combines hip hop dance and storytelling. With relatable characters, infectious moves and fully integrated access, this is a feel-good show for all ages.
Date: Thursday 4 September
Time: 1:30pm and 3:30pm
Venue: General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH
Festival.org
Festival: Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) The Weight of Water
This spectacular water-based event from Dutch company Panama Pictures sees six incredible performers struggle for survival on an unpredictable floating stage. The stakes are high in this modern parable of global warming, which merges dance, circus and live music on water to nail-biting effect.
Date: Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September
Time: 2:30pm and 6:30pm
Venue: Birchmere Lake, Epstein Road, Thamesmead, SE28 8DQ
Woolwich Works
Festival: Brassworks Festival
A music festival in the sunny courtyard, including a community brass parade across Woolwich town centre.
Date: Saturday 6 September
Time: 12 noon to 7pm
Venue: Woolwich Town Centre and Woolwich Works, Royal Arsenal, SE18 3PU
The Bold Melon Collective
Festival: Give or Take performance and workshops
A family-friendly live performance and collage workshops from local LGBTQIA artists.
Date: Sunday 7 September
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, East Greenwich Pleasaunce, Chevening Road, Greenwich SE10 0LB
Tramshed
Festival: ‘Whodunnit?’ Cabaret musical
Reach Theatre Company will stage their "Whodunnit?" cabaret musical alongside a specially commissioned performance by an artist.
Date: Sunday 7 September
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, East Greenwich Pleasaunce, Chevening Road, Greenwich SE10 0LB
TARU Arts
Festival: 10th Anniversary of Woolwich Carnival
Date: Saturday 13 September
Time: 12 noon to 8pm
Venue: General Gordon Square, Beresford Square and Woolwich Arsenal, SE18
Carnival parade with music, dance, food, and community stalls.
Black Female Entrepreneur Greenwich (BFEG)
Festival: Nigerian Cultural Festival
The African masquerade joins up with the Woolwich Carnival with masquerade mask workshops, a fashion show, an Afrobeat dance competition, cultural food tastings and pop-up market stalls.
Date: Saturday 13 September
Time: 12 noon to 8pm
Venue: Woolwich Carnival, General Gordon Square, Beresford Square and Woolwich Arsenal, SE18
Tramshed
Festival: ‘Whodunnit?’ Cabaret musical
Reach Theatre Company will stage their "Whodunnit?" cabaret musical and a specially commissioned artist performance.
Date: Sunday 14 September
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, Southwood Park, New Eltham, SE9
The Bold Melon Collective
Festival: Give or Take performance and workshops
A family-friendly live performance and collage workshop from local LGBTQIA+ artists.
Date: Sunday 14th September
Time: 12 noon to 6pm
Venue: PARKSfest, Southwood Park, Southwood Road, New Eltham, SE9 3QE
Don’t miss out on a free summer of fun with Royal Greenwich Festivals! Tag us in your photos @royal_greenwich using the hashtag #RGF2025