London’s beating heart just got a little louder, prouder, and livelier. On Sunday 11 May 2025, Covent Garden will host a day-long street party to celebrate 50 years of organised street performance — a tradition that transformed a historic piazza into one of the world’s most iconic stages.
Expect live music, circus, dance, poetry, and downright delightful chaos as over 50 performers — from legends to rising stars — take over the cobbles with shows, singalongs, and stunts that only Covent Garden could inspire.
In a year where public space feels increasingly boxed in and buttoned up, this celebration is a vital reminder: art belongs to everyone, and the streets are still ours.
50 Years of Magic on the Cobblestones
Back in 1975, Covent Garden’s future was anything but certain. Faced with redevelopment threats and the closure of its famous fruit and veg market, local residents, traders, and performers fought to reclaim the piazza as a public space. Out of that rebellion came a vibrant new tradition: street performance — raw, improvised, and gloriously unlicensed.
Since then, Covent Garden’s West Piazza has launched the careers of Eddie Izzard, Dynamo, Stomp, and many others, serving up everything from chainsaw juggling to bed-of-nails balancing acts — and all without tickets, gates, or velvet ropes.
What’s Happening on 11 May?
The day kicks off with an 11-piece brass band parade through Covent Garden, setting the tempo for a full slate of performances across the West Piazza and the nearby May Fayre & Puppet Festival at the Actors’ Church gardens.
Expect jaw-dropping acts like:
- Magic Sam, fresh from levitating Machine Gun Kelly live on stage
- Juma of Black Eagles fame, balancing seven feet in the air
- Chris Thomas, dazzling with Cyr wheel acrobatics
- Karbula and Dan Edwards, merging trampolining with breakdancing
- The Mighty Gareth and Yann Elvis, a father-son sword-swallowing and chainsaw juggling duo
Long-time Covent Garden favourites like Otiz Cannelloni, Luca London, Hunter Juggler, and Heavy Metal Pete will return, alongside young talents like 16-year-old Harvey Stinton, proving the next generation is ready to keep the spirit alive.
Meanwhile, musical theatre fans can join a mass sing-along with the West End Musical Choir, and dance enthusiasts can jump into free workshops hosted by PPAS, formerly of Pineapple Dance Studios.
Even Covent Garden’s two legendary Charlie Chaplin impersonators — one in his 80s, the other a regular face on the piazza — will take the stage together.
A Party with Purpose
Covent Garden’s street performance scene isn’t just entertainment. It’s a model of community-led cultural stewardship. For fifty years, performers have self-regulated the space — running fair systems for pitches, vetting new acts, and keeping audiences safe without formal council oversight.
Despite this track record, uncertainty hangs in the air. A borough-wide licensing scheme introduced by Westminster Council in 2021 technically covers Covent Garden performers — even though they’ve historically operated independently and successfully. The Covent Garden Street Performers Association (CGSPA) continues to push for formal recognition of their self-governed system.
“Covent Garden works because we built it,” says CGSPA spokesperson Melvyn Altwarg. “No one had to come in with a policy document — we figured it out on the cobblestones.”
Alongside the performances, CGSPA representatives will share stories from the last five decades and highlight the ongoing challenges facing London’s street artists. The message is clear: protecting Covent Garden’s self-managed model matters — not just for nostalgia’s sake, but for the future of public art in London.
An exhibition by photographer Sarah Ainslie, capturing Covent Garden’s performers of the 1980s, will also run throughout May at Paul Smith’s Floral Street store, adding another layer of history to the festivities.
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Date: Sunday 11 May 2025
Time: All day, starting from 11AM
Location: Covent Garden West Piazza and nearby Actors’ Church Gardens
Admission: Completely free — just turn up and throw a few quid in the hat if you can!
