Great Exhibition Road Festival is bigger and better than ever

The Great Exhibition Road Festival celebrated its biggest and best-rated year yet, welcoming more than 57,000 people to South Kensington for a free weekend of science and art, all while achieving its highest ever visitor satisfaction scores.

2026 was the seventh installation of the free Festival, and marked 175 years since the Great Exhibition of 1851, the world fair that shaped South Kensington into the world-famous cultural district that it is today.  

In addition to a series of talks, activities and workshops exploring the complex history and legacy of the Great Exhibition, the crowds were also engaged by over 100 exhibits and events inspired by the cutting-edge science and art happening in South Kensington. Led by Imperial College London, the Festival is a partnership between iconic institutions like the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, the Royal Parks, V&A and many more. 

This year, 97% of Festival attendees described their experience at the Festival as good or excellent (up from 94% in 2025) with 58% of these results falling into the excellent category. 

Hear about visitor experiences first hand in our Festival highlights video: 

Lara Mistry, Head of Public Engagement Programmes, said: “The Festival exists to welcome the public into spaces that they might typically perceive as unapproachable; be that the institutions in South Kensington, or even just science and art in general. We take all the brilliant things that are happening in the laboratories, art studios and rehearsal rooms, and bring it to Festival visitors in engaging and creative ways. The numbers speak for themselves, over 57,000 people see the Festival as a place where they can have fun while learning something new. Each year, the Festival team puts together an amazing programme in collaboration with our Festival partners that makes science and the arts accessible to everyone of every age and ability. It’s a cross-college effort too, and simply couldn’t go ahead without the support from researchers, academics, volunteers and the amazing Professional Services staff who support the event.”  

A broadening reach

The Festival continues to draw new people to Imperial and the surrounding area, with 67% of attendees saying they were first time visitors, and 62% saying they have no connection to Imperial or any other Festival partner. 74% said their festival experience made them more likely to visit South Kensington again, 67% reported seeing new places in the area, and 40% encountered an organisation at the Festival they had not engaged with before. 

Local reach strengthened in 2026, with 18% of all visitors coming from the three boroughs closest to Exhibition Road in 2026, compared with 14% in 2025. Among London visitors specifically (who make up three quarters of the overall visitor-base) this share increased from 19% in 2025 to 24% this year. 

Basically, it's like a really big lesson… [it] gives you an introduction to things you probably wouldn't learn in school in a really fun way. - Festival visitor

Families had a brilliant time at the Festival, with the ever-popular Family Fun Zone relocating to Kensington Gardens for an extra-special year of fun activities, dance parties and hands-on workshops for the scientists of the future. However, with more than half of our visitors coming as part of an adult-only group, alongside an increase in the number of 16–25-year-old visitors, the insights show that the Festival truly is for all ages.

Not just fun for visitors!

The Festival could not happen without the thousands of Imperial staff and students who take part, whether that's contributing their research to an event or exhibit or volunteering to make the weekend run smoothly. 

Among contributors, satisfaction reached an all-time high at a rate of 99%, with 3 in 5 rating their experience as excellent. 95% described it as a 'rewarding and motivating' experience, with 90% taking away new ideas for further public engagement work. 

Public engagement is nowhere near as scary as it seemed! Festival contributor

Meanwhile, volunteers got as good as they gave, with 100% of those surveyed rating the experience positively, both in terms of the support in the run-up to the Festival, and of the weekend itself. Every single volunteer surveyed said that helping out at the Festival helped improve their confidence and enhanced transferable skills, such as communication and organisation.

Get involved next year 

The Great Exhibition Road Festival will return on 19-20 June 2027 for another weekend of free workshops, talks and activities for every age and interest. If you want to keep up to date, follow @ExRdFestival on Instagram, Facebook and X. 

Next June seems like a long way away, but the Festival team are already preparing to outdo themselves in 2027 – and they need your help. If you work or study at Imperial and want to gain public engagement experience while sharing your research in a fun and creative way, we want to hear from you. The open call for next year's Festival is now live, and will be open until 2 November. Find out more about how to submit your idea on the Imperial website.