What to Expect From Hardwick Festival 2025: Pop Icons & Family Fun

Hardwick Festival returns this summer for its 11th edition, and this year, the North East’s music event promises to be bigger and bolder than ever.

Transcript

00:00Hardwick Festival returns this summer for its 11th edition and this year the North East's

00:05music event promises to be bigger and bolder than ever. Set across the stunning parkland

00:10of Hardwick Hall in County Durham from August 15th to the 17th, the three-day festival will

00:15be headlined by Scissor Sisters, Pet Shop Boys and Ollie Mears. Beyond the headline acts,

00:20a blend of talent will light up seven stages including Sam Ryder, The Lathams, Everything

00:26Everything, Alabama Three, Top Loader, The Whalers and the Oasis tribute band Definitely Oasis.

00:33But Hardwick Festival is more than just music. Attendees can enjoy gourmet food stalls, craft

00:38cocktails, a vibrant fairground, boutique bars and immersive family zones. It even features a new

00:45family-only camping area, Minnie Meadows, and activities ranging from silent discos to

00:50storytelling, craft workshops and children's entertainment. How the festival evolves, we put

00:56on a one-day festival 13 years ago now with Texas, Jules Holland, Alison Moyet and just called it Hardwick

01:08Garden Party. So it has grown over the years but we've always kept it where we want to have it as a

01:16family day out. So we cater for everybody coming in. So where we're standing now is the front lawn of

01:25Hardwick Hall Hotel which is going to be the children's area with a host of things going in.

01:32We're going to have two large marquees in here. One of them will have loads of different events,

01:38you know, an action-packed run of events in there each day. And then the other marquee which is just over

01:45there when it gets put up, it's going to have recycling and making festival items from, you know,

01:53off cuts of material. So it's getting kids involved in making things. There'll be a climbing area here,

02:01kids archery, obviously it's not proper bows and arrows, there'll be pizza making. We've also got a

02:08lot of outdoor trapeze and other little bits and bobs that are going to go on here. There'll be some

02:15face painting stalls either side for the kids to get painted up. So loads of things and then into the

02:22woods area over the back there is going to be Shanty Bee which is more adult themed but there is

02:28bushcraft and things like that in there. A host of great traders running down the main driveway entrance.

02:36And then of course down the field is where the main stage is. This year organisers of the Hardwick

02:42Festival have dramatically ramped up efforts to make the event a standout destination for families.

02:47This approach reflects a broader trend in UK festivals where events increasingly prioritise

02:53integrated family zones both to ensure child safety and to enrich the festival experience for caregivers.