The Henley Festival is an annual black tie event on the banks of the Thames at Henley in early July bringing together music, culture, art and fine dining in a beautiful riverside setting. It is held the week after The Henley Royal Regatta.
There really is something for everyone at this glamorous event. Performance artists walk throughout the festival, interacting with the crowds. There are generally art gallery installations, sculptures and luxury items on display. Performers, including classical musicians, comedians and variety performers, are situated throughout the festival in various tents and you can simply wander in and out.
There are ticketed events on the floating stage every evening after dinner, where headline acts from the worlds of classical and popular perform on the “floating” stage. The more expensive seats are all under cover, although you can sit right on the edge of the river in deck chairs if you want to be closer to the action (and risk the British weather). Over the years we have seen everyone from Burt Bacharach and Katherine Jenkins to Sting. This year, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Gladys Knight are headline acts.
After the headline show, you can go on to one of the shows in the various tents I mentioned earlier or have a drink at one of the bars. The evenings generally finish with a wonderful fireworks display.
A Charity Endeavour
The Henley Festival is a charity, founded in 1982 to stage a music and arts festival for the local community. They also aim to support rising talent across music and the arts. They have also launched a charitable programme called RISE, designed to nurture the next generation of creative talent, both behind the scenes and on stage.
Food and Dining at The Henley Festival
There is a huge variety of food on offer at The Henley Festival with no shortage of places to eat at virtually every price point. If you want a high end experience, you can try the Riverside Restaurant, mid-range would be The Terraces, and there are also lots of much more casual places scattered around as well. There are generally a number of bars, champagne and otherwise, scattered throughout the grounds as well. Some of the restaurants, including The Riverside and The Terraces, need to be booked in advance.
An Evolving Festival
In years gone by, you had to buy a ticket to one of the shows on the floating stage to gain admission to the festival. In order to make things more accessible, general admission tickets are now available.
It is wonderful that the Henley Festival is now accessible to more people, however this has meant that attendance is higher and there are a lot more people in a space that is still the same size. Also, it is inevitable that expectations are going to vary between people who simply purchased a grounds admission ticket for under £50 and those who have paid hundreds of pounds for dinner and a ticket to one of the shows on the floating stage.
I confess I preferred it when The Henley Festival was quieter, and the more exclusive Riverside Restaurant used to be fronted by people like the Roux Brothers. (We are pictured above with friends in the Riverside Restaurant in 2017.) The food is still nice, but in recent years the restaurants are rarely run by big name chefs.
Can Children Attend the Henley Festival?
At the time of writing, children must be aged 16 and over to attend the event Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and age 12 and over for the Sunday event.
There is a separate Children’s Festival called Playdate on the Sunday this year (2024) which I believe allows younger children but please do check age requirements before booking.
Henley Festival 2023
My husband and I attended The Henley Festival twice in 2024, dining at Phyllis Court beforehand and then taking the Sea Scouts charity boat shuttle across the Thames to the festival.
We enjoyed a glass of champagne and enjoyed watching the headline shows – Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics on Thursday and Gladys Knight on Friday – at Henley Festival itself. We definitely had fun, but the atmosphere at the event and the experience has changed a lot since we started attending the festival back in 2007. I love a glass of champagne (or two!) but a lot more people seemed to become very, very intoxicated, which of course can impact the experience for others.
Would We Attend The Henley Festival Again?
We used to attend the Henley Festival every year, sometimes on multiple nights, and were even members of the Friends of the Festival. The Friends is a paid sponsorship programme supporting the Henley Festival Charity which gives you first access to tickets for the headline shows and restaurant bookings. However in recent years we have let our membership lapse, and only attend on an ad-hoc basis. We are heading to the festival again this year. I love getting dressed up and it is a fun night out.
The Henley Festival 2025
The Henley Festival 2025 is being held from Wednesday 9th July to Sunday 13th July. For more information, visit the Henley Festival website.
This post contains my honest opinions and the advice I give to friends. We have attended the Henley Festival on many occasions over the past 18 years and paid all our own expenses. Information is correct to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing and I accept no responsibility for, nor can I be held liable for, your experience at the Henley Festival. To avoid disappointment, be sure to visit The Henley Festival website for tickets, restaurant reservations, opening times, their full terms and conditions, and to check prices, availability and payment terms. Please note the Henley Festival operates a strict black tie dress code.
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