Nevill Holt Festival Reveals 2026 Dates After This Year's Season Concludes

The Nevill Holt Festival has announced that next year's event will take place between 29 May - 21 June. This follows a successful 2025 season, featuring more than 700 artists, and partnerships with iconic brands such as Maison François, Cubitt House, Maison Mirabeau, Jigsaw and Waterstones.

At the heart of the programme — curated in partnership with Underbelly and Opera North — was the ethos that art should be used to inspire the current and next generations of culture enthusiasts.

This year saw a huge breadth of artists on stage, and the expansion of the Festival grounds, with a new 100-year-old Spiegeltent added on site. Set against the stunning landscape of the Leicestershire countryside, the Festival builds on more than a decade of performance experience to bring arts and culture to everyone.

Audiences heard from Richard E Grant, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, Mishal Husain, Trinny Woodall, Dame Prue Leith DBE, Sir Alastair Cook, the New York Jazz Sextet, Mozart's Cosi fan Tutti, and many more. More than 1,000 young people took part in educational activities on and around the stages including a concert by composer Gavin Bryars and young musicians from the David Ross Education Trust supported local secondary schools.

2026 will once again feature Opera North in the second year of its five year partnership with the Festival.

Membership schemes which provide early booking incentives and access to exclusive deals are available now, with options starting from £35. The 2026 Festival line up will be announced later this year.

Founder David Ross said: “As we close another incredible season of the Nevill Holt Festival, I am grateful to every single person who made this year unforgettable — from the artists and performers to the dedicated crew and, of course, our amazing audience and supporters.

“Access to the arts has never been more challenging, and festivals across the UK face immense pressures to survive. That's why I am so grateful to see new faces each year, and I look forward to seeing even more of you in 2026. With our friends at Underbelly and Opera North, we are already devising what next year will bring and can't wait to do it all over again.”

Laura Canning, CEO and General Director of Opera North, said: We're thrilled with the result of our very first collaboration with Nevill Holt Festival: Mozart's Così fan tutte, which delighted audiences and introduced many people to Opera North for the very first time. In addition, we were delighted to have had the opportunity to bring the magic of the Orchestra of Opera North to local schools in conjunction with the David Ross Education Trust and to perform with their young singers at a special concert at the beautiful Nevill Holt theatre. We look forward to developing this collaboration both on the stage and in the community in 2026.

François O'Neill, Owner, Maison François, Cafe François said: “We are extremely proud of our partnership with The Nevill Holt Festival this year. We looked after thousands of guests and the coming together of St James London and Leicestershire was beautiful. We very much hope to return next year.”

To sign up to receive information about the 2026 Nevill Holt Festival please visit www.nevillholtfestival.com