Bankside Open Spaces Festival - 10 June, 12-9pm!

Location: Red Cross Garden, Marlborough Sports Garden, Crossbones Graveyard, Redcross Way and Union Street to Flat Iron Square

Are you ready to take to the streets and dance the afternoon away?

Dust off your dancing shoes, prepare to try a new sport or craft, give your prize-winning pooch a brush and be part of Bankside Open Spaces Festival – Bankside’s biggest FREE community celebration and street party!

On Saturday 10 June, we’ll be welcoming performers young and old, community groups, artists, sports coaches, musicians, singers, dancers, and pampered pooches of all sizes to our festival and we’d love you to join us too!

This year our Festival has a Latin twist, we’re joining up with Elephant and Castle’s inugaral Fiesta Latina Procession - a celebration of the area’s community, which has a rich Latin American culture. The procession starts at Castle Square and leads community members to our Main Stage on Flat Iron Square where BOSFest is officially opened by The Mexican Ambassador to Great Britain, Ambassador Josefa González-Blanco. Following the Ambassador’s speech we welcome four sets of performers from the Latina community - details here.

Also new for 2023 - free yoga, massage, London Street Tours walking tours, an art exhibition in Crossbones Graveyard, Irish dancing, ceramics workshop with M.Y.O to accompany clay craft with Mud Gang and a fungi focused activity all in Marlborough Sports Garden, and did we mention the donkeys? All on top of our four music stages, DJ Stage and the action packed activities our community know and love!

Click the images below to find out more about:

Bankside Open Spaces festival is one of London’s largest free unticketed street parties

The event is designed to bring people together and celebrate all the fantastic things they can get up to outdoors. As a reminder of how important urban green spaces are, festival goers can even make up and take home a free pot of plants to brighten up their own open space at the festival’s BIG Plant Giveaway.

Latina Fiesta

*Tinkus Puros Londres - Bolivian performers who will be part of the Fiesta Latina Procession form Castle Square to Bankside Open Spaces Festival on 10 June.*

Bankside Open Spaces Festival will open this year with a Latin twist as Elephant and Castle’s inaugural community Latina Parade runs into the event. Four acts from the Latin American community launch activities on the festival’s Flat Iron Main Stage, while the MSG Community Stage opens with Samba from festival regulars UDM Samba. If festival-goers are left inspired by Latina beats – they can try their hand at salsa and tango with workshops running in Marlborough Sports Garden across the afternoon.

The Line Up

From its Latina opening, the Main Stage on Flat Iron Square goes on a musical journey taking in rock and roll, funk, roots, rhythm ‘n’ blues, ska and rocksteady. But it’s not the only music on offer, the festival boasts three live music stages, a DJ stage and community stage. For those who love dancing in the street – Alma Casa’s DJ Stage down Redcross Way is for you. Six top London DJs, two MCs plus firebreathers, live sax and drums, dancers and bubble artists will keep the party going from 2-8pm. Those looking for a calmer Saturday can head to Red Cross Garden for acoustic sounds and spoken word performances, there’ll also be massages nearby from Waterloo wellness clinic Breathe London, all free of course. Over in the Trust’s sports ground Marlborough Sports Garden, the MSG Community Stage hosts choirs, dance performances and workshops, and more live music with Brixton Orchestra. Out on Union Street, Bankside’s LCCM (London College of Creative Music) curate a stage featuring student bands and local performers.

Across the festival activities and workshops will keep all ages busy and entertained. Kids will love free sport workshops, craft, playing on the beach and facepainting in Marlborough Sports Garden, while curious minds can enjoy the Old Operating Theatre’s historical activities, Bee Urban’s visiting beehives, finding out the story of our Crossbones Graveyard from two experts, or an intriguing walking tour involving forfeits and prizes from London Street Tours. Those seeking movement can join FREE yoga classes with South London’s top yoga and pilates specialists Yogarise or try their hand at the dance workshops, including Irish dancing with Jig and A Swig. Even four-legged festival-goers are included – The Little Dorrit Dog Show returns for its 7th year with pampered pooches judged by festival favourite and BBC Radio London’s dog expert Anna Webb.

The BIG Plant Giveaway and Wilder’s Interactive Garden

Returning for its third year our BIG Plant Giveaway does just what it says - we’re giving away plants! Come and pot up some FREE plants and spruce up your garden, balcony or windowsill. This year we are delighted to be partnering with local social enterprise Wilder on the green part of our festival. Wilder work to create space for wildlife in the city. Visit them at Bankside Open Spaces Festival to find out how you can help wildlife and boost biodiversity on your balcony, or even on a window ledge.

Pop down to Marlborough Sports Garden on the 10th June and grab a plant or two and find out more about how to get involved with greening our local area!

Be part of it - volunteering and getting involved

Bankside Open Spaces Festival is all about our green spaces and the community who loves them, there are lots of ways to get involved from performing, to running an activity or stall to volunteering on the day! Find out more by emailing our Event Manager Emma on festival@bost.org.uk

Funders, sponsors and partners

Thank you to our funders National Lottery Community Fund, Better Bankside, Southwark Council and United St Saviour’s Charity. Thanks also to our sponsors: Aviva, Berkeley Homes, Fabrix, Hines, Great Portland Estates, Greystar, Landsec, Mount Anvil, Sellar. For more about how Bankside Open Spaces Trust works with devopers, please see our About us page.

Our DJ stage partner is Alma Casa, follow them @almacasaldn for the most up to date news on all the music and street performers who will be lighting up Redcross Way on the day! Thank you also to EXT Radio for their Dance Stage and promotions support.

We’d also like to thank Hilton Bankside for donating our fabulous survey prize - a nights stay and breakfast for 2 in The Hilton Bankside! To be in the running for this special prize simply complete our festival survey at the event or afterwards - link to be added here soon! The surveys help us continue to improve our events and source funding to put on event more fun things in our open spaces.