Hull has recently been named the UK’s City of Culture for 2017, and the Freedom Festival was instrumental in the success of the city’s bid.
Of course, the Freedom Festival has been an important part of UK culture for years now, and represents the most eagerly awaited summer of cultural events in the city.
The 2017, the Freedom Festival is set to kick things up a notch by creating an even more extensive programme showcasing the very best artists, producers, musicians, thinkers, and innovators from Hull, the UK, and all across the world.
Artistic Director and Chief Executive Mikey Martins boasts years of experience putting together some of the most famous outdoor arts events and festivals in the world. In his own words: “To have this opportunity here in Hull, a place with such a strong sense of identity, such incredible history and stories, and at a moment of such exciting change, regeneration and genuine positivity – that is a recipe for the extraordinary to happen!
If there’s one event that is likely to prove unmissable, it’s the Launch Party, but there’ll be plenty else on during the event, which is set to run from the 1st to the 3rd of September.
Kids will find themselves entertained by a wide selection of shows. Head to The Flycycle and The Submercycle, presented by Pif-Paf Theatre, to travel across time aboard Pif-Paf’s famous machines during an unforgettable piece of cycle-based, interactive street theatre. You can also indulge your kid’s penchant from nonsense at the Gobbledegook Theatre. For a slightly more educational day, don’t miss The Science Lab. Presented by the University of Hull, this event will make learning fun with a number of mind-boggling and entertaining science based attractions.
And there’s still plenty for the adults to enjoy. You can take in some comedy theatre from The Wandering Orquestra, check out outsider art in the forms of Olivier Grossetête’s The People’s Tower and Cirque Bijou’s The Umbrella Project, and attend The Dream Engine. The latter show, presented by Heliosphere, will feature a world-class balletic aerialist tumbling and turning gracefully through the air from twenty meters up, and she’ll be suspended by nothing more than a large helium balloon. Those with a literary leaning can head to the Beyond Words Book fair.
These are just a few of the events that will be available. With everything from comedy to cabaret on offer, make sure you check out the Freedom Festival.