The author of some of the most widely read books in the English language, Clive Staples Lewis, was born in Belfast in 1898, and this year, the C.S. Lewis Festival recognises and celebrates both his life and his legacy to the world. Best known for his children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia,...

Berlin. the hippest and most unconventional city in Germany (maybe the world) hosts the Hipster Cup Festival. An annual event, the festival brings together thousands of hipsters to southern Berlin to celebrate a huge daylong party every July.  

NEXTCOMIC festival in Linz is one of only a few German language festivals dedicated to celebrating – and creating! – comic art. The purpose of NEXTCOMIC, which began in 2009, is to make art more accessible. The event is as much about introducing new people to comic art as it is...

Altitude Comedy Festival sees the biggest names in comedy performing at one of Europe’s best ski resorts. John Bishop, Al Murray, Tommy Tiernan and Andrew Maxwell were just some of the top comedians at this year’s festival which took place from 31st March – 5th April 2014 in...

The 56th Tong Tong Fair – the best mix of East and West The 56th Tong Tong Fair will take place at Malieveld from 22 May – 2nd June 2014. By hosting the event, The Hague will be the venue for the largest Eurasian (Indonesian) festival in the world. In 1959 the Tong Tong Fair introduced...

Limerick is Ireland’s City of Culture throughout 2014. Merging edgy and urban with tradition, in a rich mix of international and local acts, the varied programme  promises  street events, visual art, music, food, fashion and craft, architecture and sport. Limerick City will achieve a climactic...

  In June, movie buffs flock to the northern side of the polar circle for five days and nights to enjoy the magical midnight sun and superb movies from cinema’s greatest masters. Founded in 1986 by the Finnish directors Aki and Mika Kaurismäki as well as Peter von Bagh, the Midnight Sun...

On Saturday 14 June 2014 all of Scheveningen will be celebrating the season’s first herring or “Hollandse Nieuwe”. This year, Vlaggetjesdag has embraced the theme 200 Years of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The theme has resulted in interesting additions to the packed nautical...

The Hague International Singer-Songwriter Festival (THISSFest) is an independent, seven-day celebration of the art and craft of the singer-songwriter held in The Hague, Music City. The inaugural edition of THISSFest took place from June 27th to the 30th 2013. THISSFest aims to become a leading...

The Ana Desetnica international street theatre festival will bring together a large number of street artistes, clowns, circus performers, jugglers, tightrope walkers, fire-eaters, musicians, “provocateurs”, dancers and actors from Slovenia and abroad. The Ana Desetnica festival, held at...

The successfully carried out first Soča Outdoor Festival 2013 left all participants enthralled, and proved that Tolmin, already recognized as a festival town, is also a perfect destination for a sport festival. This year’s mayor novelty is an additional location, Kobarid, where some more...

  PITCH is a festival for lovers of progressive electronic music. This adventurous and intimate festival anticipates the hottest trends in pop and dance.  This year’s spectacular line-up includes huge names including Massive Attack, Moderat, Mount Kimbie, Richie Hawtin, The Gaslamp Killer...

  The ”Luminarie” represent one of the most beautiful expressions of handicraft production in Southern Italy. These lines of colorful flickering lights, whose origins can be traced back to Roman times, have evolved their shapes, colours and materials over time in accordance with the...

  The Kuhmo Chamber Music festival was born in 1970 out of the quirky idea to take chamber music intro pristine nature, far away from the noise and pollution of the urban environment. The aim was to gather the world’s best chamber musicians to perform together in the front of the most...

  Sastamala Gregoriana is an early Music Festival that combines an excellent international concert programme from medieval, renaissance and baroque periods, old lakeside churches of Sastamala with unique acoustic space and warm local atmosphere. This is something that deserves to be known and...

  Bregenz-Bodensee festival is different. An opera festival with two stages: a traditional opera house, home to less-known operas, and an open-air lakeside stage, where productions are held in the most spectacular fashion. It must have been the wonderful location of the city by the lake and the...

  The Locus Festival represents one of the lynchpins of the overall cultural offer in Puglia, featuring a rich  program that spans many genres, from jazz and world music to singer-songwriter hits. It’s a happy synthesis between  artistic quality and the popularity of the events offered....

Dance, music, educational masserie, workshops, books, wine, beer and plenty of good food are the main ingredients of the 15th edition of Maglie Mercatino del Gusto. An opportunity to make visitors experience all the unique features of our region, with its rich bio-diversity and different cultures,...

Innovative and contemporary street theatre rediscovers the city of Graz at the La Strada Street Theatre Festival. It returns public space to the people, engaging the topics of our time. It tells stories of people; artfully, playfully. It reflects the sounds and rhythms of the city, in a dance...

With the population over 210 000, The City of Tampere is one of Finland’s largest urban centres located on a narrow strip between two big lakes. Tampere is a luminous cultural city, a vibrant town full of theatre. Since 1968, the Tampere Theatre Festival has been one of the leading attractions...

Since 1996, Carpino Folk Festival– the festival of folk music attracts every year tens of thousand of people into the heart of Gargano. The hub of the event’s performances (all for free) will be Popolo square, in Carpino. The area in the middle of the picturesque urban agglomeration...

Notte della Taranta aka ”The night of the Taranta” is the biggest festival in Italy and one of the most important folk culture events in Europe. It is held in Salento and is specifically aimed at preserving and valuing Salento traditional folk music and its contaminations with other...

Mänttä Music Festival is the only piano festival in Finland, and has been organized for already 15 years.  The festival features a wide range of pianists, from internationally famous artists to young Finnish talents. The brand new Serlachius Museum Gösta will be the new main concert venue. The...

Wilderness is a multi-award winning 4-day festival combining live music, contemporary arts and an array of theatre, craftsmanship and dining experiences. Headliners this year include London Grammar, Metronomy and legendary Burt Bacharach. www.wildernessfestival.com

    Mänttä Art Festival is the window for contemporary Finnish visual art, founded 20 years ago. This splendid event is held at Pekilo, a converted factory filled with thought-provoking works that provide a fresh new perspective on the contemporary art scene in Finland. This year...

Strom Festival is not a traditional festival, but rather a selection of the best and strongest purveyors of electronic music on the Copenhagen event scene, which has evolved heavily over the last years. More information http://www.stromcph.dk This festival is sponsored by Generator Hostels

The term MS DOCKVILLE has evolved into a synonym for cultural diversity. What originally set out to be a weekend festival has experienced several add-ons in its eight year of existence. Several weeks before the festival itself, the curated art camp MS ARTVILLE enables a communicative and artistic...

Belsonic festival takes place in Belfast’s Custom House Square in Northern Ireland, the city’s premier outdoor space. The big sounds music festival features the best in international pop and rock. US rock stalwarts Queens of the Stone Age, Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro and English singer,...

Every August, Gràcia holds an 8-day festival “Festa Major”, known as Festes de Gràcia  and is one of the largest festivals in Barcelona. Lonely Planet describes Gracia Festival as ‘…veritable explosion of creativity. One second you’re being jostled by a gang of ravers,...

c/o pop international music festival is taking place from 20 – 24 August 2014, offering once again five days of exceptional musical entertainment by superstars and rising stars, heroes of the international scene and national newcomers. As ever the line up is strikingly international, featuring...

  The Night of the Arts is a carnival of the arts, a night when anything is possible. You can expect artworks falling from the skies, circus troupes taking over the city’s parks and opera performances screened on advertising boards. The night is a chance to see the Helsinki’s theatres...

The HAPPY DAYS Enniskillen International Beckett Festival is the world’s largest annual multi-arts celebration of Irish Nobel Prize writer, Samuel Beckett, who attended Portora Royal School in the island town. The inaugural festival took place in August 2012 to critical acclaim and full houses,...

Nights in Ljubljana Old Town is a mini festival closing the Summer in Ljubljana Old Town festival and symbolically concludes Ljubljana’s summer event season. The festival traditionally features outdoor concerts accompanied by a diverse mixture of other cultural and entertainment events...

Alster Festival is Hamburg’s largest summer festival celebrated on the banks of the River Alster. The festival runs over four days and you can expect concerts, sporting activities plus live performances featuring over 500 national and international artists, acrobats and athletes. Four stages...

The museum embankment festival is Europe’s largest cultural festival features countless arts and crafts stalls, live music, culinary highlights from around the world in Frankfurt’s fabulous museum row. More information http://www.museumsuferfest.de

Imagine a month of festivals. Now double it! From the beginning of 2 September to 31 October, a continuous run of festivals and events will bring world-class culture, arts, theatre, music and architecture to the capital. Highlights include:   Dublin Fringe Festival, 6 – 21 Sept, The Dublin...

World Port Days is a festival for people of all ages who love sailing ships, ports and maritime adventures. Expect spectacular demonstrations on the water, impressive ships and exciting port excursions. The World Port Days traditionally takes place around the Maas River. This World Port event gives...

One day an Irish Grandmother Giant, having fallen from the sky, found herself spread-eagled in a potato field in the middle of Munster. The peasants, who were surprised by her apparition, put her up in a barn on their property, and they fed and took care of her every day as best they could....

From September 25 to October 12, the Wiener Wiesn-Fest will be pitching it’s tent on the Kaiserwiese in the Prater. Expect Austrian beer, local food, all sorts of music and traditional outfits to help ensure a great atmosphere. The 4th Wiener Wiesn-Fest will be held in the fall of 2014...

Galway City, along the Wild Atlantic Way in the West of Ireland plays host to the world’s longest running Oyster Festival from 25 – 28 September  .Throughout the Irish food festival, expect  lots of tantalising events for all to enjoy; seafood trails, oyster hot spots, oyster opening...

This event taking place in Birgu (also known as Vittoriosa), which is one of Malta’s oldest and most historic cities, has now become an annual national event. From inception the aim was to highlight Birgu’s historic and architectural beauty and the Birgu by Candlelight, now incorporated...

Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce during which the events of his novel Ulysses (which is set on 16 June 1904) are relived. The day involves a range of cultural activities including Ulysses readings and dramatisations, pub crawls and other...

Calentita is the “national” dish of Gibraltar, means “warm” and, according to some sources, appeared in the sixteenth century. It is of a pot pie mixed chickpea flour with water, salt and black pepper, roasted in the oven, within a greased bowl with olive oil, and served hot....

North Sea Round Town of Rotterdam offers concerts, exhibitions, master classes, lectures, jam sessions and after-parties for children and adults at no less than 100 Rotterdam indoor and outdoor locations. This is one big musical event with mostly free admission performances. The city warms up every...

Montreal Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec that holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world’s largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 artists from 30-odd countries, more than 650 concerts (including 450 free outdoor...

Cowboys and cowgirls from around the region gather for the annual Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo, which is held at the city’s Cariboo Memorial Arena. This three-day event is the BC Rodeo Association’s second largest rodeo, and it delivers heart stopping competitions and top cash prizes. In...

Parkpop has been Europe’s biggest free festival for years and attracts a large, varied audience in addition to national and international artists!  Pop city, The Hague is proud of its Parkpop festival. Young and old meet in Zuiderpark and enjoy the sun, music, atmosphere and each other. The...

Canada Day occurs on July 1st, the anniversary of Canada’s confederation. From 7am until midnight, Canadians can enjoy a pancake breakfast, live jazz music, and a South Asian cultural extravaganza, which includes traditional dances, bollywood fashion and ethnic food. Entertainment will include...

Canada Day celebrates the anniversary of Confederation, when Canada became a country separate from the British Empire. Parliament Hill is the focal point for Canada Day celebrations, with a giant stage featuring Canadian performers throughout the day, the noontime playing of Oh Canada and a flyby by...

The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world’s largest...

The Edmonton International Street Performer’s Festival is a festival that takes place in mid-July on Sir Winston Churchill Square, in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has showcased street performance artists from around the world since 1985. While Comedy Cares (Proving that...

The Galway Film Fleadh is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Ireland. The Galway Film Fleadh is both a platform for international cinema in...

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba. It features a variety of folk artists from around the world, as well as a number of local artists, contemporary singer-songwriters, and children’s performers. There’s...

The Galway International Arts Festival, founded in 1978, is a multidisciplinary arts festival producing and presenting an international programme of theatre, spectacle, dance, visual arts, music, literature and comedy. The Festival takes place each July in Galway, Ireland. This Festival is a...

Latitude, is an award-winning festival with the very best from Music and the Arts; wander from Film to Music, Comedy to Literature and Theatre to Poetry in the stunning setting of Henham Park in the Suffolk countryside. Set in fairylight-lit woods, a lake and featuring a flock of multicoloured...

The largest city-event in the Netherlands, the Rotterdam Unlimited represents a mix of music, dance, theatre and carnival and is held in Rotterdam’s inner city. The Carnival parade revolves around the Battle of Drums, the street parade and the ‘Queen election’. More information...

Bardentreffen festival is one of the biggest annual events in Nuremberg taking place over three days  in the city’s historic city center. The festival is attended by more than 200.000 visitors and across the 8 stages visitors can listen to famous artists from all over the world as well as artists...

Satchmo SummerFest (also known as Satchmofest) is an annual music festival held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in celebration of the jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. It is held in early August in order to coincide with August 4, Armstrong’s birthday. It has multiple stages, including stages for...

Féile an Phobail (The Community’s Festival), also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its August Féile (Festival). The festival was established in 1988 as a direct response to the conflict in Northern Ireland. It aims to celebrate the positive...

Brighton Pride, the UK’s biggest Pride festival celebrates 25 years in existence. Loved locally and acclaimed nationally Brighton & Hove Pride is a celebration of all that is great about the city and its vibrant LGBT community. To mark this important milestone & recognise the...

This Lifestyle Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, South West England, usually held over four days in mid-August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of Newquay. The Fistral Beach site, where surfing in the UK began, plays...

The Hanse Sail in Rostock is the largest maritime festival in Mecklenburg (Germany) and one of the largest in Europe. About 250 traditional sailing ships of all types and sizes from a vast variety of countries visit the coast off the city of Rostock every year during the second weekend of August....

The Rüdesheimer wine festival has a unique atmosphere in the Rüdesheim, Germany. Cheerful winemakers get together with guests to show the gastronomic highlights of the region accompanied with live music, from noon until late, giving the right rhythm for young and old. Events include the Coronation...

The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival is a fundraising event that is held annually on the Isle of Wight, and raises money for the booming Garlic industry on the island, as well as fundraising for other agricultural farms on the island. With over 250 stallholders selling such delights as garlic beer,...

Hundreds of Rothenburg’s townsfolk are members of historical reenactment groups, reviving a bygone age or re-establishing a traditional profession. Thousands of yards of fabric are worked to reproduce the original fashions of the day, old equipment is brought out of retirement or reproduced in...

The annual Gibraltar Music Festival is set in the picturesque Victoria Stadium on the Rock of Gibraltar, this year they boast the exclusive British festival performance of ‘Sex On Fire’ rock heroes Kings Of Leon, alongside the insanely influential and multi-multi-multi-million selling...

This festival aims to be an international and innovating visual arts festival; showcasing both international and Rotterdam visual arts talent, facilitating artist collaborations and organizing network activities for art professionals. With performance art and visual art, featuring fashion, music,...

The Oldenburg International Film Festival covers since 1994 the international movie scene in all of its aspects. This open minded approach leads to an inspiring mix of great premieres, surprising discoveries and original independent productions. Off beat innovation and ideas against the grain are...

As part of the growing worldwide fascination with Bram Stoker and his most iconic creation, Count Dracula, the descendants of Bram Stoker have taken an active role to provide historically accurate information about Bram Stoker and his life, to collaborate with individuals and entities of like...

Welcome to the world famous celebration of Halloween , the largest in Europe. Experience creepy GhostBus tours, night-time markets, thrills and spills galore, with a week-long hive of devilish activities that everyone will adore. Ghoulish fun, ghastly frolics and thrilling events, all leading up to...

It is an international literary festival that brings together a world-class array of celebrated novelists, writers, biographers, food writers and public figures to Gibraltar. Some of the festival events take place in buildings with real heritage and deep historical roots; the main focus being on the...

Staro Riga festival of lights is an annual traditional festival. The event usually lasts 4-5 days, and its timing coincides with the Latvian Independence anniversary celebrations. Staro Rīga Festival allows locals and visitors to view unique light art objects. Just a few nights on the streets, in...

Experience the New Year’s Festival in Dublin as the city comes alive over 3 day’s for fun filled New Year’s festivities. Bringing together some of the country’s best talents, NYF Dublin offers you  a host of free and family friendly activities and events guaranteed to entertain. Enjoy live...

“The annual Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival has established itself as the most prestigious open tournament in the world”  The Sunday Times The Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival is a chess tournament held annually at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar since 2003. Its eleven days of...

The Temple Bar TradFest has gained a reputation as the one of the biggest and best traditional Irish music and culture festivals in Ireland. The festival takes place over 5 days and 5 nights with over 200 events. The festival has been recognised for its contribution to Irish traditional music and...