Freedom Festival 2026: First four shows announced
‘HIGH ENERGY’: The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave. Picture by Matt Hurley
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
This year’s Freedom Festival will have the theme of peace, it has been announced, as organisers also reveal the first four shows for the latest staging of the city’s landmark arts festival.
Internationally acclaimed company Gravity & Other Mythsreturn to the festival to present 10,000 Hours at Hull Truck Theatre.
Featuring eight elite acrobats, the show is described as “a breathtaking tribute to the hours of dedication, discipline and repetition behind physical mastery”. It also “promises to be a spectacular celebration of the extraordinary things the human body can do”.
The second of the indoor shows announced today is The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave by Oli Mathiesen. This will transform an as yet secret city centre location into an immersive, high-energy rave experience.
‘PHYSICAL MASTERY’: 10,000 Hours. Picture by Simon McClure
Condensing the atmosphere of a three-day rave into one hour, the performance invites audiences into a world of music, movement and collective release, before opening the dance floor for everyone, to “let go and be free”.
The festival’s outdoor programme will again bring free, accessible performance to the streets of Hull.
Quingo Starlequinn by Emergency Exit Arts is a feel-good street dance party led by a giant drumming puppet with a built-in DJ booth.
Created in collaboration with local disability groups, the parade piece celebrates participation, movement and community, and audiences will be invited to join in the dance party as it travels from Jameson Street, along King Edward Street and into Queen Victoria Square.
STREET DANCE PARTY: Quingo Starlequinn
In Trinity Square, Babel by Arrangement Provisoire will see community members construct a 12-metre tower of wood and rope live in front of audiences. The striking work explores unity, cooperation and shared effort through the physical act of building and dismantling something monumental together.
Phil Hargreaves, festival director for Freedom Festival Arts Trust, said: “For 2026, Peace takes centre stage not just as an idea, but as something to explore, question and experience.
“Alongside moments of spectacle and joy, the programme will offer space for conversation and hope – encouraging audiences to consider what peace means in a world that often feels anything but calm.
“The festival continues to stand out as one of the most distinctive arts festivals in the North of England, transforming Hull into a city-wide stage with free outdoor spectacle, international performance and community-led creativity.
ELITE ACROBATS: 10,000 Hours. Picture by Millissa Martin
“We are kicking off the 2026 programme announcements with four shows to whet people's appetites, with plenty more announcements to follow in the coming weeks.”
The festival was first staged 19 years ago to commemorate the bicentenary of the 1807 Slave Trade Act and to honour the legacy of local reformer William Wilberforce.
An impact report on last year’s event showed it attracted an audience of about 60,000 people. A total of 40 arts companies from nine countries delivered 148 performances.
Freedom Festival 2026 will take place from Thursday, September 3, to Sunday, September 6.
For more information and tickets, visit freedomfestival.online.