Derby Festé at Derby Market Hall

About the Event

Expect the unexpected as the streets burst into life with a spectacular mix of dance, theatre, circus, parkour, and aerial performance.

Leap into the extraordinary as Derby Festé returns for 2026 with a spectacular line-up of free, outdoor performances featuring a diverse range of shows from leading UK and international artists.

On Sat 26 Sep, Derby city centre will be transformed into a vibrant playground of creativity, as the city’s premier free outdoor arts festival promises a truly unique, family-friendly celebration right in the heart of the city.

Watch as the streets become a stage for a diverse, captivating, and spectacular lineup. From high-energy outdoor dance and playful performance to stunning art and breath-taking circus.

The Derby Festé programme will run from 11.30am and this year will extend into the evening, so you can experience Festé after dark!

This year’s line-up features a host of unforgettable experiences, showcasing everything from internationally acclaimed artists to exciting East Midlands talent.

Audiences can look forward to high-energy outdoor dance, playful performances, stunning art, breathtaking circus, interactive walkabout dogs, sky-high trumpet players, and dancing hippos. Catch the action at Derby Market Place, Cathedral Green, Derby Market Hall and Osnabruck Square.

Events at Derby Market Hall

BANKS MILL TAKEOVER MARKET

10am - 5pm

Derby Market Hall will be hosting several performances as part of Derby Feste this year. To compliment this schedule of exciting happenings, Banks Mill Studios will be taking over the Market Hall to provide a Creative Market unlike any other.

The traders will all be Banks Mill members, who as you know, create work of the highest standards and offer unique and handmade products unlike any other. Expect Prints, Illustrations, Fashion, Ceramics, Fine Art as well as creative workshops that will be happening throughout the day with a number of our creatives.

Suitable for all ages. 

HIPPOS

12:30pm - 1pm & 3pm - 3:30pm

HIPPOS is a street theatre show that challenges the appearances and stereotypes imposed by society. Three hippos dance, live and interact with people, embarking on a physical journey that could be a fable, a metaphor, or simply a chance for all audiences to meet themselves and be a little more alone, but in company. Are they humans disguised as hippos, or hippos searching for themselves?

Through dance, humour and visual theatre, HIPPOS invites us to reflect on humanity, animality and respect for difference.

Access: Non-verbal, visual and physical performance, with no spoken text or language requirements.

Suitable for all ages.

MAM

1:05pm - 1:30pm & 4:30pm - 5pm

This hard hitting dance work-in-progress is a study of ordinary lives, extraordinary love, the gold, the rubbish and the inevitable that we pass down through the generations. MAM dismantles the ideology of the “perfect” mother and “devoted” son, weaving ordinary lives with myth to explore the tension between desire and obligation.

Suitable for all ages.

FOOTPRINTS

1:35pm - 2pm & 5:15pm - 5:35pm

FOOTPRINTS is a 25-minute outdoor dance performance for young people and families by Rhythmflow Dance.

Blending hip hop, contemporary, tap, spoken dialogue and physical storytelling, the work follows two friends whose paths cross on a journey of curiosity, connection and discovery. Inspired by the footprints we leave behind and the connections we make along the way, the performance explores friendship, imagination and belonging.

FOOTPRINTS invites audiences of all ages to celebrate movement, rhythm and the joy of working together.

Suitable for all ages.

BUG

2:25pm - 2:45pm & 4:30pm - 4:50pm

We present – for your entertainment – the spectacular street dances of our inimitable insects. Featuring- the Crunchy Cockroach! The Mesmeric Mantis! The Handsome Honeybee! and The Heavenly House Fly!

Brought to you by your buzzin’ hosts; ’BUG’ the drummer, and ‘GUB’ the street dancer.

Created in collaboration with choreographer and performer Lewis Norman and composer/musician Steve Blake, design by Simon Vincenzi.

Commissioned by The Place and Stomping Ground, a commissioning partnership with Creative Crawley, City Moves, FABRIC, FESTIVAL.ORG, Pagrav Dance, Strike a Light, Tramway. Thanks to Arts Council England and The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

Suitable for all ages.

Partners

Derby Festé is proudly presented by Derby City Council with project grant support from Arts Council England National Lottery funding, and supported by Fabric, Without Walls, Cathedral Quarter Derby, and Derby Theatre. Funding details for individual artists, companies and productions can be found on the Derby Feste website.

See the full Derby Festé line-up across the city.

Supported by Arts Council England

Location