UK Country guide
Street festivals in United Kingdom
13 festivals in the directory, running from May to September. 11 of them run an open call.
Britain's outdoor arts sector is dominated by a handful of commissioning festivals with real budgets, and by Edinburgh in August, which is a world of its own. Winchester's Hat Fair is the oldest and takes its name from the hat. Outside the festivals, Covent Garden in London runs auditioned pitches all year and is the most reliable paid street work in the country.
Applying in United Kingdom
11 of the 13 festivals listed here accept applications directly — 4 through an online form and 7 by writing to the organisers. The rest build their programmes by invitation or through curators, which means the way in is to be seen at the festivals that do run calls.
Write in the local language wherever you can. It is a small circuit and a message in the organiser's own language reads as respect, not effort.