This years Harbour Festival begins when the centre stage opens on Friday night, 31st July. The festival runs for 3 days until sunday 2nd August.

The festival fills the city and historic harbourside with live music, arts, dance, childrens entertainment, street theatre and circus performances. The festival is topped off with the welcoming of hundreds of boats, of various shapes and sizes, into the floating harbour.

This year we have the pleasure of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the floating harbour, making this years festival one of the biggest ever. It is predicted to attract over 200, 000 visitors.

Whats on offer?

• 6 music stages of all tastses including big band, reggae, funk, jazz, acoustic and rock. Graeme Howell, director of Bristol's Colston Hall, the programmers of the Queen Square stage said 'The music programme has been designed to support and showcase up and coming local talent, as well as some of the best local bands. There will also be top performing musicians and international artists. I'm looking foward to hearing more from Bristol's new bands. You can catch them on the Willmott Dixon-sponsored music stage in Queen Square on Saturday and Sunday'.
• Dance village - a key element of the festival, desrcibed in Bristol City Council's Our City magazine as an 'unrivalled programme of professional dance performances'.
• Aerial and acrobatic displays by cirque Bijou in Millennium Square
• Continental food market
• West Country craft stalls
• Art workshops, face painting and puppet performances
• Firework display on Saturday night August 1st
• Remixing at Redcliffe Wharf (Remix stage, skateboarding, graffiti, parkour and dance - all elements from Project 360, Bristol's urban sports and arts project. And BBC Blast inspiring 13-19 year olds to be creative with film and music).