Southend Festivals

There are plenty of festivals in Southend-on-Sea throughout the year to pay a visit to. If you're a film fan, you won't want to miss the annual Southend Film Festival that usually takes place during Spring and is held at various venues including the Palace Theatre and Park Inn Palace Hotel. Films shown range from world cinema, independent films, classics, children's movies and everything else in between! The wide variety of films shown during Southend Film Festival means that everyone can find something to watch over the festival period! If you are a fan of horror films in particular, you should check out the Horror-on-Sea film festival! Horror-on-Sea is a film festival exclusively showing horror movies, and the festival launches with the famous Essex Zombie Walk along Southend Pier!

If you're looking for a music festival, we have those too! The popular Village Green festival held at Chalkwell Park is growing bigger every year, with a record turnout of approximately 22,000 people in 2014! The one day BYOB music festival features multiple stages and areas, with a huge choice in festival food around the park, and tents and stalls offering everything from stand up comedy to arts and crafts. Village Green 2014 saw top headline acts such as Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Beth Orton, and mind-blowing attractions in all shapes and sizes - from a giant fire breathing mechanical dragon to a tiny insect circus. Other music festivals include Leigh Folk Festival, the biggest free entry folk festival in the country, which presents live music on multiple stages throughout Old Leigh on the seafront for a duration of three days during the Summer.

There is also the Southend Carnival festival, the Old Leigh Regatta fishing festival, Southend Airshow & Military Festival, Southend Musical Festival, Southend International Jazz Festival, Southend Fake Festival, Spring Thyme Folk & Ale Festival, Southend Purple Festival, Estuary Fringe Festival, and the Southend Festival which celebrates Southend's creativity and culture throughout a whole host of events. To name just a few....