Leicester Festivals Team Competes for National ‘Tourism Superstar’

The team responsible for organising festivals and events in Leicester has been selected as one of the finalists in a major VisitEngland award and needs your votes!

Leicester’s award-winning Festival and Events Team has been selected as one of 10 national finalists in VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar Awards 2025. Their nomination is thanks to their key role in promoting the city, creating fantastic experiences for visitors and drawing in crowds to celebrate Leicester’s culture, creativity and diversity.

The VisitEngland Tourism Superstar award is voted for by the public and both recognises and celebrates the passion and hard work of English tourism industry workers who go the extra mile to ensure that visitors have an amazing and unforgettable experience. This is the fourth time in five years that Leicester and Leicestershire have been a finalist in the awards, with previous nominees including Sharon Redrobe – former Chief Exec at Twycross Zoo, Field Sports UK and the Leicester Museums team.

The winner of Tourism Superstar 2025 will be decided by a public vote. People will be able to vote for Leicester’s Festivals and Events team on the VisitEngland website from early February until the end of English Tourism Week, which runs from 13-22 March 2026. The winner will be announced at the end of English Tourism Week.

Leicester’s Festival and Events team brings the city’s rich cultural tapestry to life delivering free and low-cost signature spectacles. They helped recreate Leicester’s Roman Forum as the centrepiece of the city’s historic Old Town Festival with the help of thousands of local volunteers (image below), they welcome over 60,000 annual revellers to the eclectic Riverside Festival, they make Bonfire Night go off with a bang to 15,000 people at Abbey Park, they help run the largest Diwali festival in the UK, they bring Christmas to life with a lights switch-on event that attracts tens of thousands and a full festive programme of events, and they lit up the city and guided a herd of illuminated horses down Leicester’s historic New Walk promenade in the multi-award winning Light Up Leicester festival.

In addition, the team coordinates the delivery of multiple major commercial events that includes the annual Leicester Comedy Festival, BBC Radio 2 in the Park and major gigs by the likes of Kasabian, Craig David and Madness. They also champion Global Majority voices through the support of festivals including Eid, Mela, Caribbean Carnival and Chinese New Year. They help the city to express itself creatively through the biannual Bring the Paint Street Art Festival (below) and showcase LGBTQ+ identity with the Leicester Pride march and festival.

Through their imaginative programming and high-impact experiences they bring the streets and parks of Leicester to life, building social cohesion, nurturing a sense of civic pride and providing a platform for underrepresented communities. The events they organise and support are deeply embedded in the city’s identity and play a key role in making Leicester a nationally and globally recognised cultural destination.

A core team of six full time staff and small army of casual workers and volunteers ensures the delivery of a year-round programme of vibrant festivals and events that are embedded in sustainability, accessibility and inclusivity, the embodiment of the spirit of Leicester: diverse, creative and forward-thinking.

Graham Callister, Head of Festivals, Events and Cultural Policy said: “We’re delighted and very flattered to have been nominated for this prestigious award which is testimony to the team, our wider council colleagues and of course our amazing casuals who are the icing on our Festivals and Events cake!  It’s a fantastic achievement and welcome recognition of the hard work and dedication of a dream Festivals and Events team!”

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “Our Tourism Superstar competition truly showcases the diversity of roles in our wonderful industry with all those involved demonstrating their passion for their places of work and destinations. It is their commitment to making visitors leave with magical memories that we are celebrating, and I encourage the public to show their support by voting for their favourite superstar. 

“From volunteers, guides, leaders in astro-tourism to chefs, holiday park employees and events teams, these finalists are already superstars. They strive to continuously improve the visitor experience, and I wish them every success when the competition opens in February 2026. Please do cast your vote!” 

Mike Denby, Director of Place Marketing, said: “The exceptional work of our Festivals and Events team is already well-known across Leicestershire and this recognition is testament to that. This is a considerable achievement, particularly as recent Adobe research indicated Leicester hosts more festivals and events than London. We strongly encourage everyone to support the efforts of our Events and Festivals Team by casting your vote.”