De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is inviting the public to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its Cultural eXchanges festival as part of this year’s Riverside Festival.
Organised by final-year Arts and Festivals Management students, Cultural eXchanges will bring DMU’s campus to life with a programme of live music, dance, poetry, workshops and family activities across Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June.
First launched in 2001, Cultural eXchanges was created to celebrate diversity in the arts while giving students hands-on experience of planning and delivering a cultural event.
Over the past 25 years, the festival has welcomed hundreds of performers and speakers, including journalist and campaigner Paris Lees and Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry.
This year’s edition features a line-up of local talent and community groups. South Asian collective, Mirchi Mob, which includes Mr Shay, Leicester’s first poet laureate, will be headlining on Saturday evening, bringing their high-energy DJ sets and raps on to campus.
Festival-goers can also enjoy poetry from Leicester-born Carl Dhiman, singer-songwriter Lex Pretorius, the Syston Scout Band, the Aakash Odedra Company’s Belgrave Ladies’ Group, as well as a Wallace and Gromit workshop and performances from DMU’s Drama and Dance societies.
The celebrations will open with a carnival parade led by families taking part in Talent 25, a programme encouraging creativity and skills development, as participants showcase their upcycled festival costumes while parading across campus.
All performances will take place on the Cultural eXchanges main stage outside the Campus Centre on Mill Lane.
Marjolein Veloo, an exchange student from InHolland University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, studying Arts and Festivals Management at DMU, has been helping organise this year’s festival.
Marjolein said: “Well, this is special because it's our 25th year, so we have special t-shirts made and we’re going to celebrate the festival’s legacy in style.
“Cultural eXchanges is such a good opportunity to give our talented students and community a podium and put them in the spotlight. It’s all about showing everyone our culture and what students at DMU can do. It’s a really rewarding experience.
“I'm really excited. We have some great acts, especially Lexi on Saturday, she is a great singer and writes her own songs. She’s also from Leicester too, so that’ll make it extra special.”
Since 2024, Cultural eXchanges has formed part of Leicester City Council’s Riverside Festival, one of the city’s largest annual events attracting tens of thousands of visitors to the River Soar.
This year’s Riverside Festival has been expanded thanks to additional funding from Arts Council England, allowing extended opening hours and a wider programme of entertainment.
Headline performances on the Riverside Festival main stage in Bede Park include THE OLD BOY, performing an eclectic DJ set of soul, jazz, funk, house, garage and hip-hop from 7pm on Saturday.
Other highlights include a family-friendly Tots’ Rave with DJ Juvie and Louisa Darling, melodic grunge from Pretty Dirty Rats, and a collaboration between Nupur Arts and KAINE Choir blending Indian dance with African music.
A wide range of street food vendors, licensed bars and family entertainment will be available across the festival site. DJ Simon Philip will be bring the festival to a close at Bede Park from 6pm on the Sunday.
Both festivals are free to attend.
Dr Jacqui Norton, Associate Professor at DMU, said: “It’s exciting to work in partnership with Leicester City Council, and Cultural eXchanges will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at Riverside this year.
“We are really looking forward to showcasing the hard work of our final year Arts and Festivals Management students.”
Posted on Thursday 4 June 2026