Waterloo Festival 2024
Gardens, Rivers and Marshes
- 11th to 15th July 2024 -
The programme:
Upcoming Events
Event widget to go here
The theme:
The theme of this year’s Festival is Gardens, Rivers and Marshes, a celebration of Waterloo and North Lambeth’s life as a large marsh in the heart of London before 1824. Unlike Vauxhall to the South and Blackfriars to the East, our now very urban neighbourhood took until the early 19th century to start being transformed into a dense neighbourhood. Prior to that, it was host to fields, marshes and wharves. It was well known for its pleasure gardens, including Cuper’s Gardens, Belvedere, Apollo, and Astley’s Circus, the first modern circus.
The theme of the Festival will not only put a spotlight on Waterloo’s pre-19th-century past but also highlights our area’s current role as a pivotal urban centre. We will celebrate our green spaces and have a chance to further reflect on our environmental challenges.
The history focus of the theme will set the stage for the autumn when we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of St John’s Waterloo, as well as the gradual development of Roupell Street, marking the development of a residential community in our area.
The artwork:
This year’s Festival artwork features drawings and illustrations by James Sowerby (1757 – 1822) created for William Curtis (1746 – 1799), a renowned botanist and entomologist. Curtis founded the London Botanic Garden in 1779 near today’s Ufford Street Gardens. Curtis made use of Sowerby’s drawings in his iconic six-volume Flora Londinensis which provided a guide to plants within a ten mile radius of London. Among these is the Caltha Palustris (Marsh Marigold), a plant he observed locally.
The depictions of the River Thames are taken from “A Plan of London, Westminster, and Southwark,” published in 1807 by Sir Richard Philips.
Our partners:
Listen to Festivalcast:
Listen below to episodes from Season 4 (2023) of our podcast series. Produced in partnership with Morley Radio at Morley College.
This year’s Waterloo Festival celebrated the local area’s heritage as the birthplace of the modern circus. For the final episode in this year’s series, Festival
Waterloo Festival are thrilled to have bonesandtheaft! on their programme, headlining the Saturday evening concert together with Ashley’s Fit Up. Festival Director Euchar Gravina sits
Festivalcast continues to explore this year’s Waterloo Festival programme. This time round, a chat with Waterloo-based Sarah Sepahi who, together with Anna Glarin, is organising
Festivalcast is back as Waterloo Festival makes a comeback between July 14th and 17th, 2023 with the theme of Circus. Festival director Euchar Gravina chats
Waterloo Festival is an annual celebration of arts, heritage and community run by St John’s Waterloo every summer since 2010.
There has been music at St John’s since we first opened in 1824. When we were rebuilt as the church of the Festival of Britain in 1951, the newly restored nave was adorned with murals by German Jewish refugee artist Hans Feibusch and served as host to many choirs who travelled from across the country to perform in the Festival.
Today, we host a year-round programme of concerts, exhibitions and events including the Waterloo Festival. Increasingly, our focus is on bringing artists and arts organisations together with local people to co-produce projects that reflect our diverse neighbourhood. The creative process strengthens the bonds of our community and our beautiful historic church and churchyard garden.
Artistic Director: Euchar Gravina
Outreach and Engagement Officer: Abigail Tripp
Explore previous Festivals:
Community, music and voices come together at Waterloo Festival From 9 July – 12 July 2026, we will host a four-day weekend of music, contemporary
Curious about nature and spirituality? Rivers of Life is a new festival exploring the sacred importance of rivers through a diverse programme of worship, art,
PRESS RELEASE: 14th June 2025 HERE: WATERLOO FESTIVAL RETURNS, CELEBRATING COMMUNITY AND CREATIVITY Waterloo Festival, the annual celebration of arts, community, and heritage hosted by
PRESS RELEASE GARDENS, RIVERS AND MARSHES Waterloo Festival, an annual celebration of arts, community and heritage hosted and produced by St John’s Waterloo, will return
Join us or support our work
Talk to us about getting involved in Waterloo Festival, becoming a partner organisation, volunteer or patron: