Kate Tempest is the latest headline act to be announced for Hull’s Freedom Festival, joining a wildly eclectic line-up of music, dance, comedy, spoken word and street performance at the three-day event, which takes place in the next UK City of Culture on 5th-7th September.

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Set in Hull’s emerging Fruit Market area, against the backdrop of Hull Marina, the city’s premier cultural event will provide a taster of what visitors can expect in its City of Culture year in 2017, and is bursting with internationally-renowned artists, eye-popping street performance plus an unprecedented number of participatory attractions and events. Within its diverse, family-friendly line-up, other headline acts and attractions for 2014 include:

  • MUSIC: New York vocal harmony group Naturally 7, global superstar and Hull legend Roland Gift; soul queen Ruby Turner; DJs Andy Kershaw and Keb Darge; ‘Indojazz’ clarinettist Arun Ghosh
  • THEATRE: A partnership with Hull’s Heads Up Festival, in association with Battersea Arts Centre brings Ballad of the Burning Star, a drag cabaret on the Israel-Palestine conflict (5* The Guardian) and family-friendly marvel The Incredible Book Eating Boy
  • SPOKEN WORD AND POETRY: Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, CBeebies star Dominic Berry, punk-poet Attila the Stockbroker
  • STREET ART, PERFORMANCE AND SPECTACULAR: UK’s leading contemporary circus company NoFit State; a partnership with the Without Walls arts consortium, bringing Acrojou’s The Wheel House and C-12’s Trolleys; BMX star Keelan Phillips; performance-parkour from The Urban Playground; epic love story-turned-outdoor spectacular Spellbound; interactive performance and restaurant-with-a-twist Ready Steady Colour; community parade World of Colour, involving hundreds of local residents and organisations
  • COMEDY: Ex-policeman Alfie Moore follows his latest show on BBC Radio 4, It’s a Fair Cop, taking on ex-criminal Sam Harland
  • EXHIBITIONS: AI@50, a collection of Amnesty International posters by artists including Picasso, Miro, Genoves and more to mark the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International; new exhibitions at the world’s only Museum of Club Culture, based in Hull

Kate Tempest – fresh from Latitude and Reading and Leeds appearances, and riding high on the success of debut album Everybody Down - will headline a new stage at Freedom Festival 2014, the Bridge Stage. The stage will showcase emerging local artists, including Life and The Hubbards, and is supported by local hero Paul Heaton (The Housemartins, The Beautiful South).

Freedom Festival celebrates Hull’s independent spirit and historic contribution to the cause of freedom, as the birthplace of pioneering Hull-born MP William Wilberforce who led the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. The 2014 festival’s opening night will feature the unveiling of ‘The Long Walk to Freedom’ – a specially-commissioned exhibition of new artworks inspired by Nelson Mandela and his contribution to the causes of freedom and reconciliation, recognising the parallels between Mandela’s work and the origins of the festival. Audiences will experience a magical light trail blazing a route through Hull’s Old Town during the ceremony.

Liz Pugh, co-founder and creative producer, festival directors Walk the Plank says: “The programme has visual delights and world class artists in abundance, alongside music stages, comedy and outdoor performance – with a narrative running throughout which celebrates Hull’s independent spirit and historic contribution to the cause of freedom. We feel we’re showing people what can and will be achieved in this fantastic city in 2017 as UK City of Culture, and look forward to welcoming new visitors and seeing them experience the unique Freedom Festival atmosphere.”

Full programme details for Freedom Festival 2014 can be found at www.freedomfestival.co.uk