Everything we know about Nottingham Riverside Festival 2025 - answers about fireworks, live music and dates
Last year’s event was scaled back due to financial pressures on Nottingham City Council
Nottingham’s popular Riverside Festival will return to the Victoria Embankment this summer, although visitors will once again notice some key changes to previous years.
The annual event along the banks of the River Trent has been an important part of the city’s summertime schedule for decades.
Over the festival’s 42 years, millions of visitors have flocked to the Victoria Embankment each August for a weekend of family fun.
An estimated 250,000 people attended the event in 2023 after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
However, in 2024 the festival was scaled back due to financial pressures on Nottingham City Council.
This meant that popular features such as fireworks and live music were scrapped.
At the time, organisers committed to making the festival “cost neutral”.
But what can we expect from the 2025 Riverside Festival?
Here’s what we know so far:
What will the dates be?
The 2025 Riverside Festival will take place between Friday, August 1 and Sunday, August 3.
Will there be fireworks and live music?
Sadly, it doesn’t look like this year’s festival will feature fireworks or live music.
Nottingham City Council has now confirmed that there are no plans to reinstate these elements of the festival for 2025.
What will be going on?
While a full programme is yet to be announced, we know that the festival will feature a funfair when it returns this August.
Mellors Group, which runs Nottingham Beach and Nottingham Winter Wonderland, has confirmed that it will once again be operating the funfair at the Riverside Festival.