Looking for Bristol events, exhibitions and festivals to attend in 2025? We’ve got it covered with this regularly updated guide. Keep checking back for the latest details.
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Things to do in Bristol in 2025
8, 15 and 22 January: Hush City at Ashton Court Mansion
This is a new event series curated by arts charity Artspace Lifespace and its artist-in-residence Dori Jo at the historic Ashton Court Mansion.
Hush City invites participants aged 16+ to experience the tranquillity of intentional silence in a uniquely curated environment. The retreat runs from 8.30am to 9pm, offering an eclectic setup of cosy furniture, serene surroundings and a break from the distractions of the internet. Guests will engage in quiet, self-led activities with only two rules to follow:
- Observe 45-minute periods of silence, followed by 15-minute breaks with beats, drinks and welcoming new arrivals into the space.
- Keep all devices on airplane mode to maintain focus and presence.
Book tickets for Hush City here. Find more details about the Arts Mansion project here.
12 – 25 January: Bristol Comedy Festival
The first ever Bristol Comedy Festival celebrates comedy in all its forms, with over 100 events, performances, and workshops across the city.
The festival includes Jarred Christmas at Smoke and Mirrors, a night of Bristol working class commedians at the Hatchet, Mark Watson at Dareshack, comedy and wine at Averys, the Edinburgh Fringe sell-out smash hit show Comedians Getting Drunk Playing Panel Shows and several rounds of the Bristol Comedy Competition.
Closing the festival on 25 January is Bristol’s own Jayde Adams, the winner of the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer award who is known for her roles in ITV’s Ruby Speaking and the BAFTA-winning Alma’s Not Normal.
The festival is supported by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District and will raise funds for TAP for Bristol, which supports homelessness services across the city.
Jayde Adams said: “I love performing in Bristol and I can’t wait to share this show with the city that has shaped so much of my journey. It’s going to be a homecoming like no other and a thrill to perform at the inaugural The Bristol Comedy Festival alongside so many other great comedians.”
Vicky Lee, director of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “The Bristol Comedy Festival is an exciting new addition to Bristol’s vibrant cultural scene, perfectly showcasing the city’s creativity, diversity, and comedic spirit. The festival has attracted some great talent and it will be a great way to laugh our way through the first month of winter and support the city’s venues and hospitality sector.”
For full details and to book tickets, visit the Bristol Comedy Festival website.
31 January – 9 February: Bristol Light Festival
The brilliant Bristol Light Festival returns for a fifth year to bring colour and play to the dark winter nights.
Spectacular light installations throughout the city include a flock of 1000 flamingoes, a piece that intricately combines music and light, three soulful robotic creatures, a nostalgic exploration of water inspired by Sydney Harbour, a heart-shaped disco ball which blankets the audience in dapples of light, and the return of the much loved musical installation Swing Song.
The free Bristol Light Festival is founded by Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District and delivered in partnership with Redcliffe & Temple BID.
Katherine Jewkes, creative director of Bristol Light Festival, said: “We’ve been blown away by how popular and well loved Swing Song has been for the last two years of the festival, so much so that we have invested in rebuilding the swings so that they can become a permanent fixture in the festival programme.
“With its playful immersion into colour, sound and light, it is a firm favourite for adults and children alike. We are excited to be unveiling the new swings in our fifth edition, before they then head out on tour, bringing a taste of Bristol Light Festival to different areas and showing what our creative industry in the city has to offer.”
For full details, visit the Bristol Light Festival website.
12 – 16 February: Slapstick Festival
Slapstick Festival, which celebrates silent and classic screen comedy, returns to Bristol for its 20th anniversary edition.
The festival features 35 classic, silent and visual comedy events across Bristol’s most iconic venues, including Bristol Beacon, Bristol Old Vic and the Watershed.
Events include Silent Comedy Gala hosted by actor Martin Freeman, Harry Enfield’s Comedy Favourites, Aardman co-founder Peter Lord introducing a Wallace & Gromit double bill, a Goodness Gracious Me discussion with the series’ creators and stars Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, and Anil Gupta, and Alasdair Beckett-King and Robin Ince introducing a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.
For full details and to book tickets, visit the Slapstick Festival website.
2025 shows at Bristol Old Vic
This year’s shows at the brilliant Bristol Old Vic theatre include:
15 – 18 Jan: Home Ground
16 – 25 Jan: Play On!
29 Jan – 1 Feb: Showstopper! The Improvised Musical
2 Feb: Adam Kay: Undoctored
5 – 8 Feb: Buffy Revamped
14 Feb – 8 Mar: A Good House
19 – 22 Feb: The Mystery of Bristol Old Vic
25 Feb – 1 Mar: Bangers
12 Mar – 5 Apr: Romeo and Juliet
8 – 12 Apr: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show
23 Apr – 3 May: The House Party
15 May – 7 Jun: The Beautiful Future is Coming
19 Jun – 12 Jul: How To Win Against History
For the full list of shows, visit the Bristol Old Vic website.
29 May – 1 June: Forbidden Worlds Film Festival
Taking place at Bristol Megascreen, the former IMAX cinema, the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival is dedicated to screening repertory fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films from around the world and celebrating the people that made them.
For more details, visit the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival.
25 – 29 June: Bristol Sounds
This year’s harbourside gigs include Supergrass, Kaiser Chiefs, Texas and Olly Murs.
For more details and to book tickets, visit the Bristol Sounds website.
30 June – 31 August: Gromit Unleashed 3
In celebration of Aardman’s new film, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, the Gromit Unleashed sculpture trail returns to the streets of Bristol this summer.
Gromit Unleashed 3 will take visitors on a journey through the movies, with sculptures of Wallace, Gromit, Feathers McGraw and Norbot the smart gnome inspired by cinema, famous films and the stories that inspired them.
The event raises money for Bristol’s children’s hospital charity, The Grand Appeal.
See a sneak peak of some of the sculptures in this video we recorded at the launch event at Aardman HQ in Bristol.
For more details, visit the Gromit Unleashed 3 website.
18 – 20 July: Bristol Harbour Festival
Bristol’s three day party around the city’s historic harbour returns, with live performances on and off the water.
For more details, visit the Bristol Harbour Festival website.
