Global Sounds. One Stage. Four Days.

Folkestone · Kent

Kora & duduk. Bulgarian voices. Argentine tango. Four days of colour, warmth and connection.

See the programme → Find your way ↓

Global Sounds. One Harbour. Four Days.

Collage of Big World Festival artists — kora, duduk, tango, Bulgarian voice, percussion and dance

Big World Festival is a new world music festival in Folkestone, running 1–4 October 2026 and produced by Shapeshifter Productions. The inaugural edition brings participatory events and world-class performances from artists including Suntou Susso, Andrew Cronshaw, Tigran Aleksanyan, Baka Beyond, Alfredo Martin Espindola and the London Bulgarian Choir.

Across four days the town fills with musical traditions from every latitude — the tabla, the duduk, the djembe, the kora and the bandoneon — a festival made to connect people, celebrate culture and strengthen community through music.

Artistic Directors

Alison Jones
& Sarah Quist

Produced by

Shapeshifter Productions

Folkestone harbour, lighthouse and seafront cafe — illustration
The tide table

The ocean’s roar
is music
to the soul

Kollectiv The Quarterhouse The Southcliff Hotel St Mary & St Eanswythe’s Venue TBC
02
Friday
2nd October
Big World Festival
2–4 pm
Connecting Communities Through VoiceAfternoon workshop led by Sarah Quist
Venue TBCGet Ticket
Big World Festival
7.30–8.15 pm
Wild Women are WonderfulMusic, song and poetry from four generations of women — Katie Bradley, Sarah Quist, Alison Jones and Alice Phelps
QuarterhouseGet Ticket
Baka Beyond
8.30–9.45 pm
Baka BeyondWhere Baka forest rhythms meet Celtic melody
QuarterhouseGet Ticket
03
Saturday
3rd October
Big World Festival
9–11 am
“Breakfast” Forum — Music Industry & TouringDiscussion with special guests
KollectivGet Ticket
Baka Beyond
11 am–1 pm
Baka Beyond Music WorkshopLearn the African and Celtic rhythms behind the band's sound — no experience necessary
The SouthcliffGet Ticket
Bulgarian Singing Workshop
2–4 pm
Bulgarian Singing WorkshopAn introduction to Bulgarian close-harmony folk singing, led by choir director Dessislava Stefanova
The SouthcliffGet Ticket
The London Bulgarian Choir
7.30–9.30 pm
The London Bulgarian ChoirOpen-throat harmony under a Norman roof
St Mary’s ChurchGet Ticket
04
Sunday
4th October
Big World Festival
11 am–1 pm
“Breakfast” Forum — Sharing & ListeningLearning about world music, together
KollectivGet Ticket
Alfredo Martin Espindola
2–4 pm
Argentinian Tango Dance WorkshopWith Alfredo Martin Espindola and Carolina Burkhard
The SouthcliffGet Ticket
The Tango Terra Quartet
5 pm–late
The Tango Terra Quartet performance and end of festival dance party – for all the family! Family eventDance until the tide turns!
The SouthcliffGet Ticket
First edition · 2026

Folkestone · Kent — 1–4 October 2026

A big world washes up on one shore

Four days of world music at the edge of England. Kora and duduk, Bulgarian voices and Argentine tango — carried into a small seaside town by the same winds that built it.

Folkestone lighthouse on the harbour arm
Find your way

Around
the town

Kollectiv The Quarterhouse The Southcliff Hotel St Mary & St Eanswythe’s
TAP A PIN TO OPEN GOOGLE MAPS ALL VENUES WITHIN A SHORT WALK OF THE OLD TOWN

Come for the music.
Stay for the world.

The first edition of Big World Festival needs voices, hands and open ears. Join us on the shore.

Book Tickets → Volunteer with us → Get in touch
Supported by

Our Partners

Arts Council England Creative Folkestone The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust Folkestone & Hythe District Council
1–4 October 2026

The
Programme

Kollectiv The Quarterhouse The Southcliff Hotel St Mary & St Eanswythe’s Venue TBC
The venues

Where to
find us

Kollectiv

A creative co-working space and community hub on Tontine Street, in the heart of Folkestone's Creative Quarter.

Website ↗ Directions ↗

The Quarterhouse

Creative Folkestone's contemporary performance venue on Tontine Street, hosting music, theatre and comedy year-round.

Website ↗ Directions ↗

The Southcliff Hotel

A grand hotel on The Leas clifftop, with sweeping Channel views — home to workshops and Sunday's tango party.

Website ↗ Directions ↗

St Mary & St Eanswythe’s

The parish church on the Bayle, overlooking the harbour — host to the London Bulgarian Choir on Saturday evening.

Website ↗ Directions ↗
The line-up

Artists

Suntou Susso is a multi-instrumentalist – kora player, percussionist, singer and composer – from The Gambia who was born a Griot. His primary instrument, the kora, is a harp-lute with 22 strings and is unique to the Griots of the Mandinka people. Coming from a 700-year-old tradition, Griots play an important cultural role as peacekeepers, advisors and oral historians, preserving and transmitting a people's culture through the generations using song, music and poetry.

Since the release of his self-written debut album, Kanéfonyo (Never Give Up), in 2022, Suntou's career has gained serious momentum and he is an in-demand and charismatic performer. 2025 saw the release of his long-awaited second studio album, Jaliya Silokang – The Path of a Griot. Drawing on the wisdom of elders and youth alike, Suntou acts as a vessel imparting lessons in how to live a good and honest life in today's world. The album is both a journey into heritage and a bright, hopeful vision for what lies ahead – he is at once a guardian of the Griot tradition and a bold innovator of its future.

Suntou performs in a range of musical settings: solo with a more traditional sound, leading his seven-piece band whose music innovatively blends Mandinka musical traditions with jazz, funk and soul, and as part of a British-Gambian folk duo, among other collaborations and projects. Suntou's musical abilities are considered unique for his generation.

Suntou's family includes some of the world's most highly respected West African musicians, including Seckou Keita, Solo Cissokho and Mamudou Susso.

Career highlights and collaborations

  • 2026: Awarded two Gold Medals in the Global Music Awards for Composer / Composition and Originality / Creativity categories
  • 2026: Shortlisted in the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics' Award) in the Traditional Ethnic Music category
  • 2025: Suntou released his second album Jaliya Silokang – The Path of a Griot with a large sold-out album launch at 229 in London
  • 2025: Suntou and his Dad, Griot elder and kora master Jali Mamudou Susso, performed the Father & Son Tour in 15 venues across the UK (70% of shows sold out)
  • 2024: Solo tour (80% of shows sold out)
  • 2024: Played on Mark Radcliffe's BBC Radio 2 Folk Show programme
  • 2024: Toured with half-brother Seckou Keita and his Homelands Band
  • 2024: Performed at 29 music festivals including Glastonbury, WOMAD and Green Man Festival
  • 2024: Recorded for Boris Grebenshchikov with Rolling Stones producer Chris Kimsey
  • 2024: Featured and performed on BBC Radio Four's Last Word special about the life of legendary kora player Toumani Diabaté
  • 2024: Honoured as an Honorary Benefactor Member of UNESCO Gambia for his contribution to cultural preservation
  • 2024: Led a film crew to Gambia to make a documentary about his culture, and while there, performed a Homecoming Tour with his Gambian band
  • 2023: Completed a 20-date UK album tour with his six-piece band
  • 2023: Supported Vieux Farka Touré as part of his UK tour
  • 2023: Recorded with This Is The Kit on their latest album, produced by Gruff Rhys, and consequently performed with them at Glastonbury 2024 on the Park Stage
  • 2022: Released his debut album, Kanéfonyo (Never Give Up), receiving a 4-star review from Songlines Magazine
  • 2018: Performed alongside world-famous Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour at the O2
  • 2017: Key member of Norway-based Kristin Asbjornsen Trio, co-composed and recorded a successful album, performing at jazz festivals around Europe
  • 2016: A member of Ghazalaw – an Indian-Welsh fusion project featured on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 6
  • 2014: Performed with celebrated jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris and guitarist Tony Remy at Ronnie Scott's
  • 2014: Performed alongside South African opera singer Pumeza Matshikiza and brother Sura Susso on ITV's This Morning
  • 2012: Performed with Davide Mantovani in a kora and modern jazz fusion
  • 2012: Toured with Seckou Keita

Visit suntoususso.com →

The duo of Andrew Cronshaw and Tigran Aleksanyan reflects the UK's present-day multiculture in its unusual, richly melodic and seductive music, deeply rooted in the traditions familiar to multi-instrumentalist Cronshaw – particularly the old, strong monophony of English, Scottish and Finnish folk-song – and the winding Armenian melodies of duduk master Aleksanyan. Their musical conversation is, like all living traditions, an evolution from deep roots into the present day.

Andrew Cronshaw

Andrew's main instruments with the duo are his spacious-sounding 74-stringed electrified zither, chiming 44-stringed marovantele (his own invention, a double-sided Finnish kantele/Malagasy marovany hybrid), the soft-toned brass-reeded Chinese ba-wu, and the rippling harmonics of a huge Slovak fujara whistle.

Since 1974 he has released ten solo albums; Ochre was nominated for both the BBC Folk Awards and the BBC Awards for World Music. The most recent, Zithers, is entirely solo. Kulku, the most recent album by his Finnish/British/Armenian band SANS, topped the world music charts and won an EMMA (Finnish Grammy).

Tigran Aleksanyan

Tigran is one of the world's leading masters of Armenia's exquisitely soft-toned reed instrument, the duduk. Born in Artashat in the Ararat Mountains, at seventeen he joined the Armenian State Dance Ensemble and toured worldwide with them. He moved to Britain in 2001, and since then has played with Andrew Cronshaw, singer Yasmin Levy, the 35-piece La Banda Europa and others, and in studio and film sessions. He returns frequently to Armenia, where he co-founded the Armenian National Duduk Ensemble, whose debut album was released on US label Traditional Crossroads in 2010.

Visit cloudvalley.com →

For over 30 years, Baka Beyond has been blending African and Celtic music into an electrifying mix that gets everyone dancing. Their music transcends mere beats, focusing on bridging cultures and spreading joy. Inspired by the Baka Pygmies of Cameroon, founders Martin Cradick and Su Hart were deeply moved by the Baka's spirit during their first visit to the Cameroon rainforest, prompting them to share this experience with the world.

Their debut album, Spirit of the Forest, catapulted them to global fame, yet they have remained true to their roots, ensuring royalties go back to the Baka through their charity, Global Music Exchange. The band now brings together Martin and Su with Irishman David O'Farrell on drums and fiddle prodigy Ben Weedon on Celtic flair, alongside Ayodele (Sierra Leone) and Kibisingo (Congo), who create the authentic African groove.

“Baka Beyond are the perfect festival band… great for parties and concerts. They are the full package. Our audience and volunteers love them.”Terry Wickham, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Canada
“Keeping still is only an option for the dead, or those too mesmerised by the sheer joy of it all.”Metro

At Big World Festival

Baka Beyond bring their full live show to The Quarterhouse on Friday 2 October, opening the night alongside Wild Women are Wonderful. The following morning they lead a hands-on Baka Beyond Music Workshop at The Southcliff – a chance to learn the rhythms and grooves behind the band's sound, no experience necessary.

Visit bakabeyond.net →

The Tango Terra Quartet is a highly acclaimed, London-based Argentine Tango live music ensemble. From Golden-era composers to Astor Piazzolla and beyond, they bring fresh elements to the already dramatic journey of tango's signature sounds, with plenty of space for the genius of these accomplished musicians – and for the dancers who bring the music to life on the floor.

John Turville – piano

One of the leading pianists and educators on the UK jazz scene. A graduate of Cambridge and the Guildhall, his awards include the MOJO Jazz Album of the Year (2012), Best Album at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2011, and Best Instrumentalist at the 2010 London Jazz Awards. He has worked and recorded with many of Europe's leading jazz and tango groups, including Tim Garland's Lighthouse Trio, the London Tango Orchestra, the London Jazz Orchestra, Natacha Atlas and Gilad Atzmon.

Carola Hengstenberg – violin

A Bristol-based violinist classically trained from the age of three, Carola spent several years studying string quartet music under Vladimir Kovalev, former solo violist of the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble. Over the last decade her enthusiasm for tango music and dance has led her to explore both traditional and alternative tango styles, performing at UK tango events and festivals with ensembles including Tango Terra and Tango Calor. Since 2024 she has run the Bristol Community Tango Orchestra as part of the Creative Caminito project.

Javier Fioramonti – bandoneon

Javier moved to London from his native Argentina in 1991. He began with the music of Astor Piazzolla as a student at the National School of Music in Rosario, before moving into more traditional Argentine tango playing. He spent over five years touring the UK and Europe with Salsa Celtica, is composer/arranger and MD of his own project The Mantecas, and produces and records at Angel Studios for De Wolfe Music, the UK's oldest music production company.

Alfredo Martin Espindola – dance & percussion

A dancer and multi-instrumentalist who has played regularly in the UK tango scene for over 20 years, Alfredo is now based in Folkestone and continues to organise the iconic Tango Terra milonga in Covent Garden, London, now in its 15th year. A dedicated practitioner across both tango and contemporary dance, his analytical approach is shaped by an earlier career as a high-performance athlete and coach, representing Argentina internationally in track and field before turning fully to dance and choreography. His work spans collaborations with choreographers Jose Agudo and Claire Cunningham, productions at the Royal Festival Hall and the Roundhouse, and fusion projects bridging tango with contemporary dance theatre.

Carolina Burkhard – dance

An international dancer, teacher and choreographer originally from Buenos Aires, Carolina trained extensively in Argentina across contemporary dance, theatre jazz, ballet, tap and hip-hop, before specialising in Argentine Tango – spending over 14 years training intensively in Buenos Aires across classic tango salón, nuevo tango and stage tango. She completed the International Tango Salon Teacher Career at Corporación Tango, a qualification recognised by the International Dance Council (CID). Based in London since 2018, she teaches, performs and travels internationally, creating dance journeys that connect people with Argentine culture and the living essence of tango.

Visit tangoterra.org →

With the award-winning London Bulgarian Choir, you can count on crunchy harmonies, wonky rhythms and exuberant hiccups, woven into powerful tales of love and loss, fighting and celebration. Founded in 2000 by Dessislava Stefanova, a former singer with the legendary Philip Koutev Bulgarian National Folk Ensemble in Sofia, the choir is now 40-strong, and their playful and passionate performances transcend language barriers and stir the emotions.

The choir's spirited repertoire of London-flavoured Bulgarian folk songs, in traditional and contemporary arrangements, has been enjoyed at festivals and in concert halls and cathedrals all over Europe. They have released three albums – Alyana Galyana (2007), Goro Le Goro (2012) and Songs of Forbidden Love (2019) – collaborated with musicians from Cerys Matthews to Nigel Kennedy, and guest-starred on the BBC, on Netflix and at the National Theatre.

Musical Director, Dessislava Stefanova

An experienced international performer while still at school, Dessi went on to become a professional singer and assistant conductor with the renowned Philip Koutev Bulgarian National Folk Ensemble. She settled in London in 2000, founded the choir, and quickly established a reputation as a teacher and conductor of Bulgarian singing. She leads international voice workshops and large choral productions, and directs the Swiss Bulgarian Choir. Her voice lends drama to key moments in films including Troy, The Brothers Grimm, The Virgin Queen, Borat and HALO 4 and 5. In 2023 Dessi was named a Bulgarian Ambassador of Culture by Bulgarian National Radio in recognition of her work raising Bulgaria's cultural profile worldwide.

“The choir does not aspire to being a simple carbon copy of a Bulgarian original, but has instead forged its own sound.”Songlines Magazine
“A guaranteed stunning, aural delight.”Time Out
“The London Bulgarian Choir filled the venue with their unearthly harmonies.”Cerys Matthews

Visit londonbulgarianchoir.co.uk →

Wild Women Katie Bradley, Sarah Quist, Alison Jones and Alice Phelps come together to tell their stories through a shared love of music, song and poetry – a compelling collaboration that celebrates the powerful voices of women across four generations. The four met in the beating heart of Folkestone's vibrant music scene, and are delighted to be opening for Baka Beyond at The Quarterhouse.

The title, “Wild Women are Wonderful”, was inspired by a song penned by Carol Grimes, and the project is a tribute not only to Carol but to all women across generations. Having premiered at the Music in May Festival, Folkestone, the artists are excited about it growing and developing organically. They are joined on stage by Nev Willis on guitar, Dan Bowery on bass and Mykola Mishurenko on drums/percussion.

“Wonderful gig, what an amazing line-up.”Audience feedback

Katie Bradley – vocals, harmonica

An award-winning British blues vocalist, songwriter and harmonica player, Katie has earned international acclaim for her album Anchor Baby Sessions, securing her Songwriter of the Year and nominations for Blues Vocalist of the Year at the British Blues Awards 2026 – the only UK female blues vocalist nominated every year for 12 consecutive years. A familiar figure on the UK blues circuit, she has performed at Ronnie Scott's, The 100 Club and London Hippodrome, and toured the UK, Europe and the USA alongside artists including Suzanne Vega and Georgie Fame.

Sarah Quist – vocals

An accomplished singer and actress with a career spanning international music and theatre, Sarah began performing alongside musicians including Herbie Flowers and Hazel O'Connor at venues such as Ronnie Scott's and The 100 Club. As a recording artist she has contributed to several albums, including sessions in Memphis with legendary soul producer Willie Mitchell. Alongside music, Sarah is an established actress who has appeared in productions for Netflix, HBO and the BBC, and worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

Alison Jones – violin

A highly accomplished violinist with over 45 years of professional experience, Alison performed internationally as featured soloist with Spirit of the Dance in sold-out arenas across the USA, Europe and Australia, and shared festival stages with Van Morrison, Suzanne Vega and the Pet Shop Boys. She later founded the performing arts charity Shapeshifter Productions – producer of Big World Festival – delivering award-winning community music projects. She now lives in Sandgate, where she remains active in the local creative and music scene.

Alice Phelps – harp, violin, voice

Alice composes from the harp and violin, creating orchestral and choral pieces reflecting on experiences she has witnessed or come across. After a sell-out show at the legendary Passing Clouds venue, she has taken London by storm playing at the Union Chapel, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts and Ronnie Scott's, and performs weekly at the acclaimed Jamboree with London's top jazz musicians.

Follow on Facebook →

Join the crew

Volunteering

Big World Festival

Call for Volunteers

Be a part of Big World Festival 2026. This is a call out for volunteers to help distribute flyers and help out at the venues. If you would like free access to our incredible events, follow the link below.

Sign up to volunteer →
QR code linking to the Big World Festival volunteer sign-up form Scan to sign up

Big World Festival Volunteers

Shapeshifter Productions is a performing arts charity looking for passionate, experienced and committed volunteers who would like to support our new project: Big World Festival.

Big World Festival is a new world music festival in Folkestone, running 1–4 October 2026, produced by Shapeshifter Productions. The inaugural festival will feature participatory events and world-class performances from artists including Suntou Susso, Andrew Cronshaw, Tigran Aleksanyan, Baka Beyond, Alfredo Martin Espindola and the London Bulgarian Choir. Showcasing diverse musical traditions and instruments such as Kora, Tabla, Duduk, Djembe, Violin and Bandoneon, the festival aims to connect people, celebrate culture and strengthen community through music.

We will need volunteers to help with:

  • Flyering: do you know the best places to hang out in Folkestone and surrounding areas? Do you know which shops, record stores and venues accept flyers? We need you to support us by spreading the word!
  • Stewarding: festival stewards carry out a range of important roles to make sure the festival runs smoothly. You could be checking tickets at the venue door or ushering people in.

You will benefit from free entrance to the festival programme when not fully booked/sold out.

We need our volunteers to be available during 1st to 4th October 2026 and in advance to distribute flyers and posters from end of July through to September (very flexible). Areas to cover: Folkestone & Hythe, down to Romney/Dungeness; Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Deal/Sandwich, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Margate, Herne Bay, and Whitstable. Travel expenses will be covered on presentation of a receipt. A car is useful!

Big World Festival

Call for Volunteers

Be a part of Big World Festival 2026. This is a call out for volunteers to help distribute flyers and help out at the venues. If you would like free access to our incredible events, follow the link below.

Sign up to volunteer →
QR code linking to the Big World Festival volunteer sign-up form Scan to sign up
Signal us

Contacts

For press enquiries, partnerships, artist bookings, or any general questions about Big World Festival, get in touch with the team — we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Email admin@bigworldfestival.com

About Us

Curious who's behind Big World Festival? Read more about our Artistic Directors, Sarah Quist and Alison Jones, and the story of Shapeshifter Productions.

About Us →

Who we are

About Us

Sarah Quist

Sarah Quist is a professional singer-songwriter, actress, performance poet and writer whose work brings together music, storytelling and the spoken word. She is also a public speaking coach for people such as the investigative, award-winning journalist Carol Cadwalladr.

With a voice described as soulful, powerful and deeply expressive, Sarah has built an international career performing jazz, blues and original material across the UK, Europe and beyond. She has appeared at some of Spain’s most respected jazz venues and festivals, including Madrid’s Bogui Jazz, the Madrid International Jazz Festival, Laydown and the legendary San Sebastián Jazz Festival (Jazzaldia), as well as performing in Poland and internationally with her own projects.

Sarah is currently performing as part of Wild Women Are Wonderful, a celebration of women in blues and roots music, alongside legendary UK singer Carol Grimes and award-winning blues artist Katie Bradley. The project brings together three distinctive voices, celebrating experience, resilience and the rich history of women in music.

Her musical journey has included collaborations with renowned artists including Herbie Flowers, Steve Gray and Hazel O’Connor, as well as recording in Memphis with legendary soul producer Willie Mitchell. She has performed at iconic London venues including Ronnie Scott’s and The 100 Club, captivating audiences with her blend of jazz, blues, soul and storytelling.

Alongside music, Sarah has enjoyed a successful acting career. A RADA-trained actress, she has worked with companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Talawa Theatre Company and the National Theatre of Scotland, and her television credits include The Sandman, The Man Who Fell to Earth, EastEnders, Doctors and Stella.

Sarah is also a published children’s author, performance poet and writer, and is currently developing two original screenplays. Her passion for storytelling runs through everything she creates, whether on stage, on the page or through film.

She is the founder of Quist Coaching, where she helps performers, leaders, creatives and public speakers develop confidence, presence and authentic communication. She is also co-founder of Creative Awakenings, an organisation using the arts to inspire creativity, build confidence and create meaningful connections in communities, schools and workplaces.

Whether singing, acting, writing or coaching, Sarah’s work is rooted in connection — using creativity to move audiences, tell stories and bring people together.

Alison Jones

Alison Jones brings over 45 years’ experience as a professional violinist, performing internationally at festivals including WOMAD, Celtic Connections and Irish dance spectacular, Spirit of the Dance. Alison’s work fuses global musical traditions, as seen in projects such as Resonance and WILDFIRE!

As Artistic Director and founder of Shapeshifter Productions, her passion for cultural exchange, developed through delivering award-winning community music projects including The Smiling Sessions and large-scale works such as WILDFIRE! supported by Creative Scotland, East Winds and WAM supported by Arts Council England, has led to the creation of Big World, in collaboration with Sarah Quist, aiming to bring communities together in Folkestone through experiencing high quality music from around the world.

Founded in 2007, Shapeshifter Productions has long used diverse programming to inspire, educate, transform and unite people. With extensive experience producing music and cultural events, they have worked with world class artists to share international experiences with local audiences. Big World will be their first festival production of this scale dedicated to world music, combining performance, engagement and cultural celebration.

“Our aim is to inspire audiences of all ages and backgrounds to not only come and experience this vibrant programme, but to join in the workshops and talks, discover beautiful music and make new friends, creating a wonderful annual event to look forward to with its own unique identity.”Alison Jones
How we look after your data

Privacy & Cookies

Last updated: July 2026

Big World Festival is produced by Shapeshifter Productions (registered charity no. 1141763). This policy explains what data this website collects, what cookies it uses, and your rights under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).

The short version

This website doesn't have any sign-up forms, accounts, or newsletters of its own, so we don't collect names, emails or payment details directly through it. Buying a ticket or signing up to volunteer happens on a third-party site, which has its own privacy policy – see “Third-party links” below. The main thing this site does use is cookies: some essential to make the site work, and (only with your consent) some to help us understand visits and measure our promotion of the festival.

Cookies & similar technologies

When you first visit, a banner lets you accept, reject, or choose which of the following categories apply. You can change your choice at any time via “Manage Preferences” in the cookie banner, which reappears if you clear your browser's storage.

CategoryPurposeCan be switched off?
EssentialRemembers your cookie choice so we don't ask again on every visit. No tracking.No – required for the site to function
Fonts & mapThis site loads Google Fonts and an OpenStreetMap-based venue map from third-party servers, which see your IP address as part of that request, in the same way any website you visit would.These load as part of the page and aren't gated by the cookie banner, since they don't set tracking cookies of their own
AnalyticsGoogle Analytics – helps us understand how many people visit the site and which pages are popular. Only loads if you accept.Yes
MarketingMeta/Facebook & Instagram Pixel – helps us measure and improve how we promote the festival on social media. Only loads if you accept.Yes

Some of these tools may not be active on the site at all times. Where a tool described above is not currently in use, no corresponding cookie is set, even if you've consented to that category – consenting simply means it's allowed to run once (or if) we switch it on.

Third-party links

This site links out to a ticketing platform to buy tickets, and to a separate form to sign up as a volunteer. Once you leave this site, you're subject to that provider's own privacy policy and terms – we'd encourage you to read them, as we don't control how they handle your data.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to ask what personal data an organisation holds about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to object to how it's used, and to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you think we've got something wrong. Since this site itself doesn't collect personal data beyond the cookie choice described above, most requests relating to ticketing or volunteering should go to the relevant third-party provider – but you're welcome to contact us and we'll point you in the right direction.

Who to contact

Shapeshifter Productions (registered charity no. 1141763), producers of Big World Festival. See our Contacts page for how to reach us.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we switch on a new tool such as Google Analytics or Meta Pixel. We'll update the date at the top of this page when we do.

The fine print

Terms of Use

Last updated: July 2026

These terms apply to your use of this website. By browsing it, you accept them. This site is operated by Shapeshifter Productions (registered charity no. 1141763), producers of Big World Festival, Folkestone.

Site content

Text, images, and design on this site belong to Shapeshifter Productions or are used with the permission of the relevant artists, photographers, and contributors. Please don't copy, redistribute, or reuse content from this site without asking us first.

Programme & line-up

We do our best to keep the programme, artist line-up, times, and venues accurate and up to date, but festivals evolve – acts, times, and venues may change, and events may occasionally be added, altered, or cancelled. Where possible we'll post updates on this site, but we can't guarantee every change will be reflected instantly.

Ticket sales

Tickets are sold through a third-party ticketing platform, not directly by this website. Your purchase, including payment, refunds, and cancellations, is governed by that platform's own terms and conditions and consumer rights obligations – not by this page. We're not responsible for the availability, pricing, or handling of transactions on their site.

Volunteering sign-up

Signing up to volunteer is handled through a separate external form linked from our Volunteering page. That provider's own terms and privacy policy apply to the information you submit there.

Links to other websites

This site links to third-party websites (for example, ticketing, volunteering, artists' own sites, and venues). We don't control and aren't responsible for the content, accuracy, or availability of those sites.

Liability

This site is provided “as is”. While we take reasonable care to keep it accurate and running smoothly, we don't guarantee it will always be available, error-free, or uninterrupted, and we can't accept liability for losses arising from your use of it, to the extent permitted by law.

Photography at the festival

Big World Festival events may be photographed or filmed for promotional purposes. By attending, you may appear in resulting photos or footage used by Shapeshifter Productions to promote future events.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Contact

Questions about these terms? See our Contacts page.