Royal Greenwich Festivals is our flagship grants programme to support delivery of our first Cultural Strategy.

We fund festivals that are free to attend and take place over the summer months in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. We're looking for high-quality, exciting, accessible festivals that engage with local community groups and showcase local content, performers and suppliers to help celebrate our diverse communities.

All festival programmes should include workshops or activities and live performances or events. This could be: 

• theatre
• literature
• music
• film
• comedy
• circus
• dance
• visual arts
• crafting

Available funding

If you're interested in applying, you can bid for a festival grant within 3 different funding bands.

Awards of up to £15k

Applications will need to demonstrate a minimum of 10% cash match funding. 

Three should be a minimum of 1000 participants in your festival. This total figure can be made up of people who attend your festival workshops or activities and live performances or events.

Awards of up to £30k

Applications will need to demonstrate a minimum of 15% cash match funding.

There should be a minimum of 2000 participants in your festival. This total figure can be made up of people who attend your festival workshops or activities and live performances or events.

Awards of up to £60k 

Applications will need to demonstrate a minimum of 10% cash match funding.

At this funding level, we would expect your organisation to have at least one person IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) or NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) event safety certified.

There should be a minimum of 4000 participants in your festival. This total figure can be made up of people who attend your festival workshops or activities and live performances or events.

Key dates

Applications open	Thursday 17 December
Application Support Workshop	Thursday 9 January
Applications close	Sunday 19 January
Assessment	From the week of 20 January onwards
Applicants notified of outcome	Monday 17 February
Event Management Workshop	Monday 24 February
Deadline for event applications	Monday 10 March
Events and activities deadline (including all venues and times for marketing)	Friday 25 April
Festival delivery	Summer 2025
Final report due	Friday 31 October

Make an application

You must apply for the Royal Greenwich Festivals grant by 5pm on Sunday 19 January.

Read the full details on programme objectives and the assessment process in the guidance pack:

Download the grant application criteria guide

Apply for the Royal Greenwich Festivals Grant

If you’re thinking of applying, find out more at our support workshop on 9 January from 12 noon to 1pm. Register for the support workshop

We only accept applications using the online form. If you've any communication access needs, contact us and we'll try to meet your needs when possible.

For any other questions regarding Royal Greenwich Festivals, email us at artsgreenwich@royalgreenwich.gov.uk and we'll try to respond within 2 working days.