With the end of another year upon us, 2024 has set the bar high when it comes to events. From some of the biggest stars in the world of music taking to the Bristol stage, to hot air balloon firsts, fabulous food and drink celebrations, and much much more.
And, next year, in addition to all of the iconic Bristol events we know and love, some more history-making moments are set to grace the city. The Women’s Rugby World Cup semi final games will be played at one of Bristol’s sporting grounds, while more balloons are set to take to the skies, and headline acts for some of next year’s huge music festivals and events are yet to be announced.
While some, like Valley Fest, won’t be back on the calendar until 2026 others, like St Pauls Carnival, looks set to be making a hotly anticipated return this year – and you won’t want to miss a moment.
We’ve compiled a list of the events you need to make sure you have made a note of in your diary before the New Year starts. All information is correct at time of writing, while some information may not yet have been released – so be sure to check back for updates…
Gromit Unleashed 3
When: June 30, 2025
Where: Across Bristol
The iconic Wallace and Gromit trail returns to the streets of Bristol next summer with the first sculptures exclusively revealed back on November 11. At a special unveiling in Bristol this morning The Grand Appeal andAardman showcased the first sculptures of the upcoming trail, which will hit the streets of Bristol on June 30, 2025.
Officially named ‘Gromit Unleashed 3’, the 2025 trail will follow Aardman’s newWallace & Gromit feature film, ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’, which is set for release thisChristmas. But it won’t just be the beloved characters ofWallace, Gromit, and supervillain Feathers McGraw dotted over the city.
In a “cracking” plot twist for the third Gromit Unleashed trail Aardman will be adding a brand new character to the mix – Norbot the smart gnome. Norbot is Wallace’s enigmatic new invention from ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’.
Upfest
When: TBC (usually May to June)
Where: Across the BS3 area
Upfest is dedicated to bringing the biggest names on the street art scene, as well as local artists, to paint live in front of visitors, leaving this area of the city full of stunning artwork, thought-provoking murals, and other pieces – some of which remain on buildings for years to come.
Since its first festival in 2008, Upfest has always been free to register for an artist space, and to attend. The 2024 event saw an ‘adaptation of its approach’, hosting a 17-day cultural programme from mid-May to the beginning of June.
As of yet, information for next year’s Upfest has not yet been unveiled, but Bristolians and visitors will likely be able to look forward to new artworks, live painting, workshops, activities and more.
Love Saves The Day
When: May 24 & 25, 2025
Where: Ashton Court
You can already buy super early bird tickets to next year’s Love Saves The Day Festival. This year’s four headline acts included Camelphat and Rudimental on the Saturday, and The Streets and Sub Focus (presents Evolve) on the Sunday, with other names on the line-up including Wilkinson, Goldie, Katy B, Sigma, Sub Focus, Groove Armada, and Shy FX, to name but a few.
The music festival, which recently moved to Ashton Court Estate, is one of Bristol’s biggest music events in the calendar and, while next year’s line-up is yet to be announced, Love Saves usually has a mission to come back ‘bigger and better’ year after year.
Dot to Dot Festival
When: Saturday May 24, 2025
Where: Multiple Bristol venues
Taking place on the same weekend as Love Saves The Day, Dot to Dot is a festival which brings a whole host of emerging talent from around the globe, across some of the best stages in Bristol. Acts on the line-up for 2024 included Yard Act, Alvvays, The Murder Capital, Finn Foxell, Kofi Stone, yunè pinku, Hamish Hawk, High Vis, 86TVs, Grove, Beka, Fat Dog, Cryalot, Opus Kink, Nieve Ella, Benefits and many more.
The first wave of acts among next year’s 20th anniversary line-up were announced back in November, and include the likes of The Horrors, Fat Dog, Lapsley, Big Special, Honeyglaze, Kate Bollinger, and Nimino. Take a look here.
If you’re into gigs, checking out a whole host of music venues, and getting a whole day’s worth of top music under your belt, then this one is not to be missed.
BS3 Presents
When: Saturday, June 21, 2025
Where: Ashton Gate Stadium
Bristol’s brand new music event welcomed the likes of Ne-Yo, Craig David, DJ Spoony, Jess Glynne, Dizzee Rascal, Stefflon Don, Damage, the House Gospel Choir, and local Bristol talents Roni Size and Krush, to the stage of Ashton Gate Stadium this summer – and it will return for 2025. Jenny Hutchinson, venue director at Ashton Gate Stadium, said: “Our ambition for the Ashton Gate Presents BS3 festival is to become a firm fixture in the festival calendar.
“We were blown away by the response to the BS3 Festival. The energy and excitement from everyone who attended was truly phenomenal. We can’t wait to bring it back in 2025 and look forward to challenging ourselves to make it even bigger and better – we have set the bar very high for ourselves.”
You can sign up for the 2025 pre-registration, to make sure you don’t miss out on updates, ticket sales and artist announcements, here.
Bristol Sounds
When: June 25-29, 2025
Where: Bristol’s Amphitheatre
Across a series spanning seven days of music, this year’s Bristol Sounds brought with it names that included the likes of Skindred, Gentleman’s Dub Club, The Skints, James Arthur, Busted, Placebo, Annie Mac, and The Breeders. Days sold out fast, and some included a literal day’s worth of music and entertainment, all overlooking the stunning Bristol Harbourside.
The line-up for next year’s series of summer music events as part of Bristol Sounds so far includes Supergrass on Wednesday, June 25, where they will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album ‘I Should Coco’. Kaiser Chiefs are headlining on Thursday, June 26, Texas on June 27, and Olly Murs on June 29. You can book your tickets now.
St Pauls Carnival
When: TBC
Where: St Pauls
Following the success of the 2023 street carnival, the first since 2019, organisers of this much-loved event have been ‘looking to the future’ and have made the decision tostage a full-scale carnival every two years. This year saw the return to the event’s community-led ‘Back-a-Yard’ format, which was successfully run during the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Organisers will “also continue ongoing year-round initiatives, including the highly popular schools’ and education programme which forms part of Carnival 365”. The major street carnival will return in its full glory, it is hoped, in 2025 – so you won’t want to miss it.
Bristol Comedy Garden
When: TBC (usually around June)
Where: Queen Square
For almost 15 years, Bristol Comedy Garden has brought some of the biggest household names in the world of comedy to the city. The region’s largest comedy festival, this year saw five nights of ‘all-star stand-up’ in a Big Top in Queen Square, as well as stocked bars and an array of street food.
Some of the acts on the 2024 line-up included Josh Widdicombe, Sara Pascoe, Harry Hill, Dara O’Briain, Simon Amstell and Bristol’s own Jayde Adams. Tickets always sell out incredibly fast, so making a note in your diary is a must if you don’t want to miss out.
Bristol Pride
When: June 28 – July 13, 2025, with Pride Day itself on Saturday, July 12
Where: Various locations across the city, with the Pride Day festival usually taking place at The Downs
Previous years of Bristol’s Pride celebrations have included performances from the likes of Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, Natalie Imbruglia and, in 2024, 80s legends The Human League, who have all taken to The Downs for Bristol Pride Festival.
This year’s event marked Bristol Pride’s 15th anniversary, with a huge colourful Parade making its way through the city, and even more live performances, entertainment and after parties to sink teeth into. Known for raising the bar year after year when it comes to Pride celebrations, 2025 will no doubt see even more of this come next June.
Bristol Harbour Festival
When: July 18-20, 2025
Where: Bristol’s Harbourside, and various locations
A multitude of activities – including entertainment, music, food and drink, and the like – take place at venues around Bristol’s Harbourside each year, during the city’s Harbour Festival celebrations. Bringing the best of Bristol’s emerging artists as well as established and international performers across all genres, festival goers can expect ‘three days of back-to-back entertainment alongside some proper maritime magic’ with the Harbour Fest’s on-the-water programme. More announcements to come soon via the official festival website, here.
Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
When: Friday, August 8 – Sunday, August 10, 2025
Where: Ashton Court Estate
This year saw a major change to the structure and schedule of the iconic Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. One of the biggest staples in the Bristol calendar, the 46th annual Fiesta went from a four-day event to a three-day event this year.
Despite this, there were still two Night Glows, six scheduled mass ascents, a community launch with some of Bristol’s nominated heroes, and the National Hot Air Balloon Championships even took place right here at Ashton Court during the Fiesta. What’s more, we had brand new activities in the arena – like the Thatchers Big Apple Race and a multitude of air and ground displays – and for only the second time in the Fiesta’s almost five decade-long history, a number of hot air balloons even landed inside the arena, to massive cheers from the crowd.
It remains a free event, though donations are welcome, and it is one of (if not THE) event of the year that anyone living in or visiting Bristol needs to visit at least once in their lifetime. A proper bucket list event, right on our doorstep.
Forwards
When: Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24, 2025
Where:Clifton Downs
Priority tickets for Forwards Festival 2025 went on sale in October. The inner-city music festival is known for drawing in some of the biggest names in international music – and 2024’s line-up just proved that.
LCD Soundsystem, Loyle Carner, Underworld, and Four Tet headlined across the two-day festival, with other names on this year’s line-up including Hak Baker, Jessie Ware, Yard Act, CMAT, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Baxter Dury, among others.
While next year’s line-up won’t be announced for a while yet, it’s not all about the music at Forwards – there are usually many a stand dedicated to local and national causes and campaigns, and even other activities like silent discos, to get stuck into.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 at Ashton Gate
When: September 2025
Where: Ashton Gate Stadium
Next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup will be coming to Bristol, with some of the biggest matches of the tournament to be played at Ashton Gate Stadium. The venue confirmed on Wednesday (June 26) that it will be ‘the premier knock-out venue for the 10th edition of the global tournament’, hosting not only the two semi-finals, but also two of the quarter finals.
It comes following the announcement back in 2023, that Ashton Gate had been named one of the host venues for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025. The tournament will kick off on August 22, 2025 and conclude with the final on September 27.
The quarter finals at Ashton Gate will take place on the weekend of September 13 and the semi finals on the weekend of September 19, to decide the finalists for Twickenham Stadium on September 27. Emails were sent to all applicants on Thursday, December 5, with the results of their application.
Wing Fest
When: September 5-7, 2025
Where: Bristol’s Amphitheatre
Bristol’s Wing Fest returned for its tenth anniversary this year, bringing with it ‘the world’s largest chicken wing festival’. Each year, the event showcases the best chicken wings the UK has to offer, with additional food and drink options, live entertainment, eating competitions and more to – quite literally – sink your teeth into.
Tickets for recent years have included entry to the festival, all live entertainment, bands, DJs, musicians, axe throwing, games, eating competitions, and a Wing Fest trucker hat you can take home. Buy your tickets here.