Opportunities in festivals

From catering to funfairs, bands to stalls, there are many ways to get involved in Leicester's festivals.

Tender opportunities

Funfair 2023-2024

We would like to offer the opportunity for funfair providers to put forward a tender to provide a funfair in Leicester city centre on Humberstone Gate West, to coincide with Leicester school holidays. Please note that we are looking for one operator to cover all dates.

• Easter: Saturday 1 April – Sunday 16 April 2023
• Half term: Saturday 27 May – Sunday 4 June 2023
• Summer: Saturday 15 July – Saturday 2 September 2023
• Half term: Saturday 14 – Sunday 22 October 2023 (open to negotiation on number and size of rides)
• Half term: Saturday 17 – Sunday 25 February 2024

Deadline 18 March 2023

Please contact Festivals for an application form festivals@leicester.gov.uk or for more information call us on 0116 454 3600.

Leicester Riverside Festival 2023

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 June

Spread over two days, Riverside Festival is situated over three main sites, Bede Park, Western Boulevard next to the River Soar and Castle Gardens and is within easy walking distance from the city centre. The event incorporates many diverse attractions and activities including market stalls, live music, funfair, bars, decorated boats, and art activities. The festival attracts up to 30,000 people over the weekend and appeals to all age groups from across Leicester and Leicestershire.

We are looking for the following:

• Funfair provider
• General stalls
• Arts and crafts  
• Catering and bars
• Riverboats

Art on the River

Art on the River is back! We are calling upon local artists to showcase and sell their art to up to 30,000 festival goers over the Leicester Riverside Festival 2023 weekend, on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 June. You’ll have the opportunity to display and sell work at the festival at a fee of just £40 for both days or £25 for one day only.

For more information and an application form, please email festivals@leicester.gov.uk with Riverside Festival as the heading. Closing date for completed application forms is Sunday 19 March. For Art on the River applications, the deadline is 16 April 2023.

Sponsorship opportunities

We run a number diverse events and major festivals throughout the year, with a large reach across a wide demographic. We have a number of sponsorship opportunities available for businesses and organisations to support one of our established events. Sponsorship packages can be tailored to suit most budgets, with options including section sponsors, named sponsors or affiliated partners. To discuss being a partner or sponsor for any of our festivals and events, please use the contact details at the bottom of this page to get in touch.

Other opportunities

We also work with partners who organise their own events. If you would like to be involved please contact the organisers directly. You can find details of these events on the Visit Leicester website which is linked at the top of this page.

Guidance on how to approach a tendering opportunity can be found on The Nationwide Caterers Association website which is also linked at the top of this page.

If you have problems accessing or viewing any documents on this page please send us an email using the link below. 

Contact us

Ring us on: 0116 454 3600
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