Watford Fringe Festival moving to July with an extended run

The Watford Fringe is back for 2024 and is moving to July with a whole month of the best of festival entertainment right on your doorstep.

The 8th Watford Fringe – the annual festival which brings high quality performing arts to local audiences to enjoy alongside supporting the best of local talent to develop and perform their shows – will take place from 1 July to 3 August.

As well as running for longer this year, it will also now include outdoor performance spaces like Cassiobury Park for the first time. More details about the great shows people will be able to enjoy will be released in the coming months.

Lee Farman, chair of the Watford Pump House which co-ordinates the Fringe, said: “We decided to bring the Watford Fringe forward to July this year so that we can make the most of the summer weather and attract the best live acts that will be touring the national festival scene at that time.

“We’re really excited to be able to bring local residents more shows and performances under the umbrella of the Fringe and hope it will become a favourite in the annual entertainment calendar.”

Every year, venues across Watford host an extraordinary live line-up of great theatre, music, comedy, dance, magic and family fun-filled shows. 2023 was the biggest Watford Fringe yet with more than 100 performances and over 2,000 tickets sold. There was everything from powerful drama to laugh-out-loud stand-up comedy, bubbles, hypnotism, puppets dance and live music ranging from Big Band to folk, rock, soul, funk and blues. The festival staged world premieres and five star shows form the Edinburgh Fringe. And it welcomed West End stars, TV legends, international singers and fantastic local talent.

Peter Taylor, Elected Mayor of Watford, said “I’m really pleased about this. The Watford Fringe has been growing every year and always has a fantastically varied range of shows.

"Not only does the Fringe provide a platform for homegrown talent, it also brings talent from across the globe to Watford, bolstering our town as a cultural hot spot. Watford Council is working very closely with the organisers to help our Fringe to grow. I’m looking forward to July and joining everyone in seeing some world class performances locally.”

Applications open on 4 March for performers to take part in this year’s festival. Anyone and everyone is welcome to apply, there's no selection criteria. All you need to do is register your event online before the end of May.

Festival organisers are still open to venues coming on board to host some of the extraordinary acts that will be performing this year. You earn money as a venue, attract customers through your door and get tonnes of publicity too.

And with the expectation of more performances this year organisers need more volunteers to help run the show and make sure audiences are well looked after. Could this be you?

For more information on how to register as a venue, performer or volunteer just visit https://www.watfringe.co.uk/

For more information visit https://watfringe.co.uk/