Greenbelt Festival 2025

For over 50 years, Greenbelt Festival has been a source of art, community, and faith-infused activism in UK culture. Founded in 1974 and once dubbed by The Sun as "The Nice People's Pop Festival," Greenbelt may have been straight-laced on the surface – but at its heart is a radical, progressive vision of the world as it could be. A world shaped by justice, compassion, creativity and inclusion.

Taking place each summer on the grounds of Boughton House, Northamptonshire, Greenbelt is not simply a festival, it is a meeting place for thinkers, artists, faith groups, activists and families in a spirit of hope and transformation.

A Festival with Purpose
Greenbelt describes itself as "a festival that models the world we hope to see." It strives to be a location of open-hearted, inclusive spaces where brave activism, open-hearted faith, and excellent art all meet. From pop-up performances to panel discussions that are sold out, the festival is a home for everyone – regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, background or belief.

Rooted in a active cultural and political Christian heritage, Greenbelt espouses a faith that includes rather than excludes. It's where questions are encouraged, doubt is accepted, and diversity of voice is celebrated.

Greenbelt Values
At the heart of Greenbelt’s ethos is a commitment to

• People First: Creating happy communities that welcome all people and build dignity, empowerment, and responsibility.
• For the Common Good: Activism to advance justice, advocacy for the marginalized, and solidarity with the marginated.
• Responsible Use of Resources: Working to reduce our impact on the environment, ethical investment, and celebrating human power to change the course of history.
• Working and Creating Together: Building alliances and friendships which challenge, inspire, and dream new futures into existence.
• Valuing the Journey: Making time for curiosity, confronting injustice, and examining beliefs and narratives that frame our views of the world.

Greenbelt, a Living Legacy of Faith and Justice
From the beginning, Greenbelt has intertwined the sacred and political. In the 1980s, Greenbelt hosted some high-profile figures including South African anti-apartheid activist Caesar Molebatsi, Nicaraguan peace activist Gustavo Parajon, and Palestinian priest Elias Chacour.

As the Christian music sub-culture experienced diminishment in the 1990, Greenbelt again re-engaged with the arts and acted on its commitment to justice and wonder. Billings during this period included Bob Geldof, Midnight Oil, and The Waterboys, which also showed that vision should not end with the church and that music has been informed by faith.

Struggles, Transformations, and Resilience
From a modest start of just 2000 in 1974, Greenbelt, grew over the next decade to over 20,000 in the early less debt-inducing-1990s. Then came troubles – less people attending, rainy Bank Holiday weekends, and speculation about the future. There was a fiercely loyal core of supporters now known affectionately as Angels keeping the flame alive.

A gear change of major proportions arrived in 1999, when Greenbelt moved from its outdoor base to Cheltenham Racecourse. What some saw as a retreat turned out to be a revival. The festival thrived in its new base, spending 15 fruitful years rediscovering its values and community. Then in 2014, Greenbelt returned to green fields – this time at Boughton House – with fresh energy and creativity.

The Festival Today – and Tomorrow
Today, Greenbelt continues to be the UK's premier festival of art, activism and faith. Its partnership with organisations like Christian Aid means that debates about global justice are turned into action. Whether climate change, LGBTQ+ inclusion, racial justice or refugee solidarity, Greenbelt is not afraid to challenge and to change.

As former Bishop of Edinburgh Richard Holloway once said, "All great art breaks through the frustration of language and unites us with that which language only usually signifies." It's this belief in the redemptive potential of art – and its power to open our hearts to one another and to the divine – that lies at the center of Greenbelt's vision.

Its gaze on the future and its roots deeply planted in faith, justice, and the arts, Greenbelt remains a festival like no other – a living, breathing expression of what it means to believe in something more, and to begin constructing it, together.