Visit Leicester Launches Summer in Leicestershire Campaign
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 21 May 2026
Visit Leicester has launched its 2026 Summer in Leicestershire campaign, showcasing the huge range of events taking place across the city and county from June to September.
The campaign wraps up major festivals, community-led events, free and low-cost things to do alongside all the activity taking place in the city around this summer’s World Cup, making it easy to find out what’s happening across the city and county this summer. Highlights of this year’s summer activity include the UK’s largest rock festival Download, headlined by Guns N’ Roses, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park; Summer in the Square, a two month takeover of Leicester’s Jubilee Square with big screen, World Cup fan zone, food and drink vendors and live entertainment; and arts and cultural festivals including An Indian Summer, the Caribbean Carnival, Pride marches and much more.
Starting from 6 June with Leicester’s biggest free culture and arts Riverside Festival, the summer programme continues with three massive gigs on the city’s Abbey Park as UK rapper Aitch, ska legends Madness and DJ Spoony make for a weekend of incredible live music. There’s more music throughout the summer as Summer Jams welcomes Eternal, Ms Dynamite and Lethal Bizzle to Abbey Park in August, For The Love of Jazz showcases great artists in the city for free, and The Long Road festival in Harborough welcomes Grammy-winning and chart-topping stars of country music including Bailey Zimmerman, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Maren Morris.
Out in the county, visitors can enjoy outdoor theatre at Kilworth House Theatre as they put on the fantastic musical Anything Goes. Leicestershire’s answer to the Hay Festival the Nevill Holt Festival is running until 21 June featuring the likes of Rory Bremner, Claire Balding, Alexander Armstrong, David Cameron, Kristen Scott Thomas and many more! Step back in time at the Bosworth Medieval Festival, a highlight of the summer and the only historical battle re-enactment staged on an actual battlefield! The night sky over Belvoir Castle will be lit up by SkyGlow Music Festival. Featuring breathtaking tethered hot air balloon night glow displays, live performances, funfair rides, stunt shows, and delicious food!
As the Mandalorian and Grogu movie looks set to be the biggest release of the summer, Leicester Museum is heading to a galaxy far far away with their free exhibition showcasing Leicestershire’s role in the Star Wars franchise ‘May The Toys Be With You’, and in July the National Space Centre will be hosting a Festival of Force with the Galactic Gathering which welcomes Star Wars fans of all ages to the centre for a day of cosplay, Jedi training and much more!
The Cosby Yarn Bomb is one of the most popular community-led events and will be kicking the summer holidays off with 80 incredible hand-knitted creations in the village of Cosby, including a life size giraffe as they go “Around the World In 80 Displays”. The Leicester Food and Music Festival returns to Abbey Park in August, with two days celebrating the very best food and drink from our city and county along with amazing tribute acts, family fun and lots more.
Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Leicester City Council, said:
“There is a fantastic variety of events organised across the city and county this summer, which feature well known celebrities and artists, as well as the smaller community events which are all about bringing people together to enjoy their local place and a day out with family and friends. There is something for all budgets, so even if the cost of living is biting a bit just now, getting out and about for the price of an ice cream is very achievable”.
Take a look at the Visit Leicester website visitleicester.info/summer for all the information and keep an eye on Visit Leicester’s social media for all the latest updates as we celebrate summer in Leicester and Leicestershire!
