South Tyneside Festival Returns for 2022

South Tyneside Council is excited to announce the return of the Borough's much-loved free festival of live music, entertainment and family friendly events this summer.

Back this year, and rebranded as This is South Tyneside Festival, the event will run from June to August. It comes after the covid pandemic led to the festival being postponed in 2020 and again in 2021.

One of the main highlights of the festival is the Borough's legendary open-air Sunday Concerts, which attract crowds of up to 20,000 spectators in Bents Park and are returning for four consecutive weeks on 10, 17, 24 and 31 July.

After working hard with agents, artists and ticket agencies to reschedule as much as possible, the Council is delighted to announce that the artists who were originally due to perform are returning to South Tyneside, albeit with some line-up changes.

This includes Will Young (10 July), Ella Henderson and The South (17 July) and Shalamar and The Fizz (31 July), with priority tickets holders advised that their 2020 tickets remain valid for the rescheduled dates.

An exciting new addition to this year's concert series is Dance Revival, featuring Whigfield, Sonique, D:Ream, Phats & Small and Kelly Llorenna on Sunday 24 July.

More information about the Sunday Concerts will be announced in due course.

Another key event, the Summer Parade, will make a spectacular return on Saturday 2 July. Once again, the whole community will come together to line the streets of South Shields and take part in a colourful carnival as it makes its way from South Shields Town Hall along to Bents Park on the seafront.

Classical and contemporary music will also play out to audiences when the popular Proms in the Park is staged in Bents Park on Sunday 3 July.

Stunning street theatre and an impressive circus show are just some of the new arts and cultural experiences that have also been added to the Sunday 3 July programme to make the weekend's seafront events even bigger and better.

The open-air Amphitheatre on the seafront at Sandhaven will once again stage a range of entertainment, starting with live music showcasing North East talent on Thursday and Saturday evenings in June (except 11 June).

This will be followed by brass bands performing on Sunday afternoons throughout June, July and August. And Kids Fun Fest will return featuring a whole host of children's entertainment on Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoons during August.

Organised by the Friends of North and South Marine Parks, there will also be live music in the South Marine Park bandstand on Saturday afternoons from July to September.

South Tyneside's month-long summer parks programme of live music and children's entertainment, which was introduced for the first time in August last year, will also return to parks and open spaces Borough-wide.

Councillor Joan Atkinson, Deputy Leader of South Tyneside Council, with responsibility for Culture and Leisure, said: "Every year, the three-month long South Tyneside festival is hugely popular event in the Borough's calendar and attracts thousands of visitors from across the region and beyond.

"We are looking forward to people of all ages enjoying our free programme of live music from well-known acts and local performers, children's entertainment, street performers and much more.

"Once again we are very excited to be bringing back the festival's key highlights including our popular Sunday Concerts with its chart-topping hits and cult classics and the spectacular Summer Parade featuring the wonderful people in our communities.

"We are urging people to save the dates in their diary to ensure they don't miss out on the fabulous programme of events and to join us in making this year's festival a one to remember after what has been a difficult period for everyone. South Tyneside will be the place to be this summer."

Community events, including the summer parade and new street theatre and seafront cultural experiences, are being delivered thanks to support from Arts Council England funding.

Sunday Concert Priority Plus tickets are available from Ticketmaster from 9am on Tuesday 22 March and can be purchased at The Word in South Shields.

Further information about the festival, including Priority Tickets for rescheduled concerts, is available at www.southtynesidefestival.co.uk For regular updates, follow on social media: Facebook (South Tyneside Events) or Twitter @stynesideevents