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About the festival

jill-cowleyWe are delighted to welcome you to Cultural eXchanges 2025 - an eclectic weekend of performances and workshops.  As Cultural eXchanges marks its 24th year, we are pleased to announce its new home as part of Riverside Festival, in collaboration with Leicester City Council. 

Whether you are a regular supporter of Cultural eXchanges or are exploring it for the first time, we very much hope that you enjoy what we have to offer and we look forward to seeing you there. 

Jill Cowley

Dean, Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities

Cultural eXchanges is an annual festival which represents the creativity of СʪÃÃÊÓƵ, Leicester and contemporary society to bring together cultures and industries. The festival is run by final year Arts and Festivals Management BA (Hons) students, with support from other year groups from the subject area. 

This year will see the festival celebrate 24 years and it is a particularly exciting year, as we move into a partnership with Leicester City Council. Moving forward, Cultural eXchanges will now become a Festival in Festival – and feature a full programme during Leicester’s Riverside Festival. In June 2024, Riverside Festival attracted approximately 75,000 visitors.

Proudly supported by UNITE Students since 2014, the festival has previously included guests such as Grayson Perry and Shxts ‘n’ Gigs.