Events, Festivals and Exhibitions

Festivals in Europe

Discover amazing world festivals, events and exhibitions
 

Tenerife Carnival 2025, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Spain

They sure know how to throw a fiesta in Spain, and the annual Tenerife Carnival (Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife) is a shining example of a pumping party. As

Free

Spain and the Hispanic World, RA Exhibition

Spain and the Hispanic World will be on display at the Royal Academy of Arts in January 2023. A visual history of Spain, this historic exhibition brings together notable works from ...

C’est La Vie by Scott Covert, Studio Voltaire

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C’est La Vie, Scott Covert's first major solo show outside the US, is exhibited at Studio Voltaire from 25 January to 23 April. Covert's Monument paintings — carefully produced tombstone rubbings...

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed will screen at the Barbican Cinema 1 at 6:30pm on 27 January, followed by a talk with its director Laura Poitras.  Sonia Zadurian, curator

Phaedra, Lyttelton Theatre

Phaedra, a new play by Simon Stone after Euripides, Seneca and Racine, will be performed at the Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre from 1 February to 8 April. Writer-Director Simon Stone

£20 – £89

You Beauties: New Australian Cinema, BFI

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The BFI will screen You Beauties: New Australian Cinema at the BFI Southbank from 3-27 February, 2023. Curated by ACMI (Australia’s national museum of screen culture)...

Standing at the Sky’s Edge

Standing at the Sky's Edge will be performed at the National Theatre's Olivier Theatre from 9 February to 25 March. With music and lyrics by Richard Hawley, based on a

£20 – £89

Eugène Leroy: The Materiality of Light

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Eugène Leroy: The Materiality of Light, Paintings 1950-1999 will be on display from 9 February through to 15 April 2023 at the Michael Werner Gallery, London. The first extensive exhibition...

The Winter’s Tale, Globe Theatre

Copy of St Ives

Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale will make history this February and March as it is performed on both the stage of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and the Globe Theatre. The Plot

£5 – £62

Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction

Whitechapel Gallery 77 – 82 Whitechapel High Street, London, Select a State or Province:, United Kingdom

More than 150 paintings by 80 underrepresented worldwide women painters are on display in a major new show -  Action, Gesture, Paint ...

£1 – £16.50

Slapstick Festival Bristol, 2025

Bristol Bristol, United Kingdom

Fans of the silent screen should virtually head to Bristol this March for Slapstick Festival 2025, a celebration of silent and vintage screen comedy, and much more. The initial Slapstick

£140 – £250

Romeo and Julie, Dorfman Theatre

Romeo and Julie is a new play by Gary Owen that will be performed at the National Theatre’s Dorfman Theatre from 14 February to 1 April. A co-production with the

£20 – £60

Battle of the Oranges, 2025, Ivrea, Italy

Ivrea Ivrea, Piedmont, Italy

Referred to as the biggest food fight in Europe, the Battle of the Oranges Italy takes over the town of Ivrea on the three days preceding Lent, from the Sunday

€11.50

Whorled (Here After Here After Here)

Bay Cafe, Totland Pier

Whorled (Here After Here After Here), an installation by Mumbai-based artist, Jitish Kallat, will be on display at Somerset House from 16 February to 23 April, 2023. The installation cocsists

Kakilang – HOME X

CABARET. The Company. Photo Marc Brenner

Kakilang – HOME X Performed at the Barbican's Pit HOME X is a visually spectacular virtual environment that fuses performers in London and Hong Kong in real-time utilising depth-sensing cameras that

Nalini Malani: My Reality Is Different

Nalini Malani: My Reality Is Different will show at the National Gallery’s Sunley Room from 2 March to 11 June, 2023. The exhibition is free to enter. My Reality Is Different...

Free

Guys & Dolls The Musical, Bridge Theatre

Onboard Menu

One of the finest musicals ever Guys & Dolls will be performed at the Bridge Theatre this spring and summer. The immersive show directed by Nicholas Hytner...

£150

Interested in Festivals in Europe?

Given the diversity of the continent, it will come as little surprise that there is a breadth and diversity amongst the festivals in Europe celebrated each year. Some of our European Festivals are world-renowned, but others featured in our pages, such as the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg and the Dour Festival in Belgium might need an introduction.

Music Festivals in Europe

Each summer, the whole continent seems to explode into a festival of music, with everyone taking to the outdoors to enjoy the music. One of the largest and most popular European music festivals is the Sziget Festival in Hungary, held each August. Other events include Tomorrowland Europe, Pukkelpop in Belgium and Zurich Tanzt, a celebration of music and dance. If you are a fan of jazz, then Jazz Brugge or Vinterjazz in Copenhagen could be just the ticket for you. Or, why not try the Tallinn Music Week in Estonia?

Beer, Wine and Food Festivals

If you wish to want to avoid the crowds at Oktoberfest then perhaps you should head to Belgium for either the Bruges Beer Festival or Zythos Bier Festival. Wine lovers looking for something a bit different could try the National Wine Day Moldova in the capital city of Chisinau, or for a food festival with a twist then how about the Onion Market in Weimar, in Germany, or Spain’s Gran Festa de la Calçotada, if spring onions are your thing.
Carnivals in Europe
While you might be forgiven for associating the carnival with South America, Europe has many a carnival that predates Rio. One of the oldest is the Venice Carnival, although the Nice Carnival and Cologne Carnival (Fastelovend) are also well worth a visit. Or if you like your carnival descending into a historical food fight then the Battle of Oranges in Italy is a must. Alternatively, try the typically Belgium quirky Carnaval de Binche.

Christmas Markets and Winter Festivals

In the build up to Christmas, most of Europe is a frenzy of Christmas Markets and Winter Festivals. Salzburg Christmas Market provides a typically Austrian take on the festive occasion, while Dresden Christmas Market and Vienna Christmas Market are equally steeped in tradition. Alternatively, if you are not in a festive mood then you can always visit the Amsterdam Lights and watch the capital of the Netherlands major winter festival turn the city on.And don't worry, we haven't forgotten that the UK is part of Europe, as we have a separate page for Festivals in the UK.