Imagine Festival
London’s leading festival for families returns to the Southbank Centre for the 24th year
Dates
11 Feb
-
21 Feb 2026
Ticket Information
Many events are free of charge
Paid event tickets vary, starting from £8
Location Info
- Address
- Southbank Centre, London, UK
- AccessAble Link
- View Accessibility Info
Southbank Centre's Imagine Festival is the UK’s leading arts festival for children aged 0–11 years and their grown-ups.
The multi-artform programme presents music, storytelling, dance, crafts, comedy and more for children and their families, covering a huge variety of themes and genres.
Happening during the February half-term holidays, the festival is packed with creative, imaginative and fun-filled events – many of which are completely free to attend!
This is a ‘relaxed festival’, meaning visitors can enter and leave venues and events freely, and there’s an open attitude towards audience noise and movement during the performances. The festival also features specific sensory-adapted shows, and BSL-interpreted and non-verbal performances, all designed to ensure an environment that feels inclusive and welcoming for all.
Imagine Festival highlights for under 5s
Little People, BIG DREAMS: Ten-Year Celebration
Wed 18 Feb & Thu 19 Feb
Get ready for matching games, singalongs, quizzes, drawing and poetry to put your knowledge of the series to the test in this interactive, high-energy game show event celebrating ten years of the series by Sánchez Vegara.
CBeebies Wildlife Jamboree
Fri 20 Feb
Join lots of CBeebies friends and animals to celebrate the natural world in music and song at the Royal Festival Hall
Quentin Blake's Mrs Armitage on Wheels
Wed 18 Feb – Sat 21 Feb
Meet Quentin Blake’s magical, marvellous inventor extraordinaire, as she cycles at full tilt onto the stage at the Purcell Room. Based on the BBC animated series Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures,
evim [my home]
Tue 17 Feb – Thu 19 Feb
Inspired by Sufi mystic Rumi, and the mesmerising whirling dervishes, this spellbinding non-verbal and sensory show is a wonderful introduction to dance theatre for young children.
The Princess and the Pea
Sat 14 Feb – Fri 20 Feb
Breathtaking acrobatics, clowning and fairy-tale
Imagine Festival highlights for over 7s
The Sleepover Club
Sun 15 Feb from 5.30pm
Lights out, adventure on! Explore the coolest corners of the Royal Festival Hall after dark in this new sleepover experience led by Jacqueline Wilson herself! Make new discoveries before camping out in the festival hall overnight and enter the morning centre stage to a delicious breakfast before it’s time to say goodbye.
Horrible Histories: The Concert
Tue 17 Feb at 11am & 2:30pm
For the very first time, your favourite songs and actors from the BAFTA Award-winning CBBC TV series appear live (and dead!) on stage in a sensational show at the Royal Festival Hall.
Pop-up Parkour with Ascension
Tue 17 Feb – Thu 19 Feb
Leap, climb, and vault your way into a world of movement where creativity meets physical challenge.
The Show for Young Men
Fri 13 Feb – Sun 15 Feb
This funny and tender dance performance at the Purcell Room uses humour and heartfelt choreography to consider how modern-day ideas of masculinity affect both boys and men.
Imagine Festival free event highlights
Every year, Southbank Centre's Imagine Festival presents scores of events that are completely free of charge to join in. This year's free activities range from: the Architectural Explorers interactive family activity trail and the popular Giant Chalkboard, to the WordPlay songs sessions for toddlers, Diasporas Now's afternoon Sound Bath and Dream, Design, Do! - a day of crafting, making and imagining led by artist Christie Swallow on Tue 17 Feb. Check out the festival full free events programme here.