A celebration of contemporary South Asian arts and culture, An Indian Summer, returns to Leicester in July. This year, visitors will be able to enjoy even more entertainment, as the festival produces its most vibrant and eclectic programme to date from 2 – 6 July 2025.
Produced by Inspirate, An Indian Summer is their flagship festival. Now running across five days, the festival will also be coming to some new spaces in Leicester, bringing a fresh, bold and unique programme of contemporary South Asian arts and culture to more people than ever.
New venues this year include the Botanic Gardens and The Big Difference, with events also returning to Curve, Jubilee Square, Phoenix and The Real Ale Classroom.
Event highlights
Evening Programme at The Real Ale Classroom and The Big Difference – 2nd – 5th July
An Indian Summer has partnered with Real Ale Classroom and The Big Difference to bring audiences live comedy, music and a pub quiz with a theatrical twist. Shakti Unleashed returns to the festival following a hugely popular drag and cabaret performance last year.
Botanic Gardens Festival Day – 5th July
A new collaboration with Attenborough Arts Centre sees the festival take to the beautiful grounds of Botanic Gardens for the first time. A perfect family day out, visitors can look forward to circus, music, walkabout theatre and dance bringing the gardens to life. This programme is brought through the festival’s partnership with Without Walls – showcasing an exemplary programme of outdoor arts from across the UK.
Leicester City Centre Festival Day – 6th July
The festival continues its city centre roots, with events at Curve, Jubilee Square and Phoenix Cinema, offering film screenings, visual arts workshops, outdoor performances, movement sessions, and storytelling.
This year’s theme is ‘The Stories We Bring, The Stories We Shape’.
Across five days, the festival will be an exploratory and fluid space where artists, participants and audiences gather to share, experience and create stories that matter to them.
From drag and cabaret to outdoor theatre and dance across the city, the festival will give visitors the chance to explore both traditional and contemporary South Asian culture.
This year’s festival will close with a thought provoking and powerful performance by Vidya Patel at Curve, developed through her residency and collaboration with Philharmonia Orchestra. Tickets for this performance are on sale HERE.
Parmjit Sagoo, Executive Producer of Inspirate, who curates and programmes An Indian Summer, commented, “Last year saw us take steps to open up the festival to new audiences, and this year we’re expanding on that even further. With a specific programme of evening entertainment running alongside our family friendly and cultural offering, we’re so excited to be able to show the vibrancy of South Asian culture across such a diverse programme.”
An Indian Summer takes place in Leicester from 2 – 6 July 2025. The full programme of events will be announced via indiansummer.org.uk or on An Indian Summer Instagram and Facebook pages.
