Bestival festival

Roll up, roll up, step this way and be amazed as we reveal our theme for 2018. Bestival, the most colourful show on earth, will celebrate 250 years of Circus, on the Lulworth Estate at a brand-new showtime - 2nd-5th August 2018.

Ringmaster extraordinaire Rob da Bank says: “Yes fellow Bestivalites it’s time to run away and join the Circus, Bestival style! Bearded freaks, insane acrobats, high wire daredevils, mutant jugglers and an out of control ringmaster all eager for you to join the most colourful show on earth await! And what makes this show even more unmissable is we have moved into peak season August style and will be open a month earlier than usual... so what are you waiting for?”

Featuring the miracles of miracle makers from across the globe, be dazzled and delighted by Art Car Night Circus Parade, Caravanserai flying trapeze, fire eating, knife throwing, bearded ladies (and men!), the Insect Circus Museum, sword swallowing, our hall of mirrors, circus workshops and free haircuts. Plus, be astonished and astounded by all the brilliant Bestival stages and sideshows that you can’t see anywhere else in the world.

But that’s not all. We have a new showtime, too. In response to festivalgoers’ feedback we’ll be opening the gates to Bestival a whole month earlier in 2018. Moving to the heart of the summer, our circus-themed arcadia of discovery will now be held from the 2nd to the 5th of August*. Do not miss out.

So, come one, come all, for the circus is about to begin!