More than 100 arts and heritage events, festivals and concerts were staged at, or by, De Montfort University during 2025 – with virtually all open to the general public and free of charge.
The 2025 programme was the biggest ever staged by DMU in terms of numbers of events and crowds.
Riverside Festival
More than 75,000 were at the two-day Riverside Festival held in June, which was staged alongside the River Soar and Grand Union Canal which runs through the DMU campus in the centre of Leicester.
The event, organised by Leicester City Council and DMU, hosted a series of events, food stalls, and two days of music on a stage on the DMU campus as the city’s long heritage associated with the waterways was celebrated.
For the first time in its 24-year history, DMU’s Cultural eXchanges festival was moved from its traditional February slot and incorporated into the Riverside Festival.
This annual public arts festival hosted by the university’s Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities is led by final year students and more than 20 events, including plays, dance, workshops and music from techno to classical were staged over the two days.
The 2025 festival showcased up-and-coming talent in art, music and drama to help educate the local community about the UK creative industries.
DMU Pride
The 11th annual DMU Pride was held throughout February and was designed to raise awareness and celebrate the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community in Leicester and beyond.
The event featured a series of arts and cultural events, including film screenings followed by discussions, dance events and workshops with organisers hailing the 2025 event as one of the most successful yet.
This year also saw a fashion show, book display, dance classes and cookery competitions as well as events aimed at the LBGT+ community of refugees and asylum seekers.
The Asylum Mapping Workshop gave participants an opportunity to understand step by step the complexities of the UK asylum seeking process and the challenges people face as they navigate it in order to gain legal status. This is Who I Am was a play reading followed by a discussion on the often difficult and harrowing experiences faced by displaced people in their home countries
Black History Month
This richly diverse calendar of events during October was a celebration of the heritage, history, arts, culture and accomplishments of African, Caribbean and South Asian diasporas in the UK.
The 2025 vibrant programme consisted of a range of in-person events and activities taking place across campus, as well as online and hybrid events including performances, talks, and interactive sessions.
There was also, for the first time, a blood donor awareness event to stress the importance of being a donor for those in the black community.
Christmas Carol Service
The final event of the 2025 calendar was the popular Christmas carol service, which was attended by staff, students, and the general public.
This year’s event was held at the historic Trinity Chapel, on The Newarke, which was founded in the 1350s and has been a traditional setting for Christmas events over the centuries.
Also in 2025, there were many other notable events including 10 separate events to mark International Women’s Day in March, with the theme of sustainability and women.
....and also in 2025
Leicester's diverse culture and the city's rich heritage were celebrate in a series of events in November with the Being Human Festival. DMU was selected as one of only five festival hubs and curated its own programme of events, which were all open to the public, to inspire people to explore cultural identities.
The annual DMU Contour Fashion Show by final-year students as well as a series of acting and dance public performances by students were staged before large audiences during the year.
The University Dance Festival 2025 was staged for the public by Dance BA (Hons) students as well as the Glorious Collisions meets Exit Souls show of creative dance took place in and around DMU’s Performing Arts Centre of Excellence.
Tours of DMU's historic buildings
DMU is at the heart of Leicester's historic centre and on the last Sunday of every month the principle buildings are open to the public free of charge to tour.
The 13th Trinity House - the city's first hospital; the adjoining herb garden which supplied the hospital's medicines; and Leicester Castle’s Great Hall with its courts and prison cells form part of Leicester’s Heritage Sundays
Visitors can also see the Castle's old gateway and the Magazine which form a series of historic buildings clustered around De Montfort University and The Newarke.
In total, more than 118 events were staged by DMU throughout the year and all but a few were open to the public and free of charge.