What’s On in Gloucester

Gloucester is home to a wide range of festivals and some truly unique events throughout the year, including the annual Summer in Gloucester Festival, the Gloucester Quays Garden Party, the Victorian Market, Lantern Procession and the award-winning Tall Ships.

For Gloucester, 2012 is going to be a bumper year not least because of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympic Torch Relay making its way through our fair streets. There will also be an It's a Knockout tournament as part of the city's Olympic Legacy Programme. The inaugural Gloucester Hat Festival deserves a nod, the Blues Festival returns for its tenth year,  whilst last year’s History & Heritage Week has evolved into the much larger Gloucester History Festival (September). Coupled with the many musical, cultural and sporting events at various venues throughout the year, there’s something for everyone.

Art & Cultural Events

Gloucester Cathedral may seem an unlikely venue for modern art exhibitions, but the critically acclaimed ‘The Crucible’ in 2010 and this year’s ‘Open West’ used the dramatic gothic setting to their advantage. There are frequent exhibitions at the City Museum & Art Gallery, whilst Nature In Art is unique in the UK as they’re exhibits are inspired exclusively by the natural world.

Gloucester Guildhall is the county’s most exciting arts and entertainment venue, hosting concerts, comedy, theatre and dance. There is a cinema showing a mix of the latest blockbusters, and the best in arthouse and world cinema. The Picturedrome and the Kings Theatre showcase the work of local and regional theatre groups.

Live Music

Gloucester is lucky to have an eclectic range of music venues, from small intimate gigs at the Guildhall (shortlisted as one of the best small venues in the South West by the NME), to stadium concerts at Gloucester Rugby (last year’s The Wanted concert was a homecoming gig for the band’s Nathan Sykes) who will be hosting the legendary Tom Jones in June.

Historic venues such as Blackfriars and Llanthony Priory are often used for one-off events, whilst Cafe Rene and the Gloucester Blues Club (at the New Inn) are at the heart of the local live scene.

January’s Gloucester Cajun & Zydeco Festival is the largest event of its kind in the UK, whilst the Gloucester Rhythm and Blues Festival (now in its tenth year) attracts local, national and international musicians and packs in nine days of free Blues gigs at multiple venues across the city every July. Gloucester Guildhall also organises the Underground Festival every September showcasing unsigned acts from the county and beyond.

Food & Lifestyle Events

Gloucester is surrounded by a cornucopia of quality food and drink producers, whose wares you’ll often find at the Gloucester Farmers Market (every Friday at the Cross) and monthly at the Orchard Street Food & Craft Market (first weekend of the month except August) at Gloucester Quays.

Gloucester Quays also host the annual Food & Drink Festival in July. This year’s festival features live cookery demonstrations from celebrity chefs James Martin and Gino D’Acampo plus more than 60 food stalls. It comes on the back of their highly successful Garden Party event.

Winter Events

Gloucester’s unique Christmas Lantern Procession brings together school children and local artists to create giant centrepieces that light up the city centre as the parade makes its way to Gloucester’s stunning Cathedral for a short service. The annual event takes place on a Sunday evening in November and has been described by many as harking back to an age when Christmas was less about commercialism and more about community spirit.

Look out for the Victorian-themed Christmas Market in November, with the 19th century warehouses at the Docks providing a decidedly Dickensian atmosphere to proceedings.

Search the Gloucester What’s On pages for the latest events information on what’s happening in the city or contact the Gloucester Tourist Information Centre.

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