Cultural eXchanges, DMU’s long-running festival designed for students by students, is celebrating its 25th birthday in style this June with a bumper line-up of arts and culture.
Organised by Arts and Festivals Management students, Mill Lane at the heart of campus will come alive with workshops, live music, dance performances and more across Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June.
Launched for the first time in 2001, Cultural eXchanges celebrates diversity in the arts, reflecting Leicester’s diverse community and providing DMU students with hands-on experience of organising a festival.
The festival has attracted hundreds of guests over the years, including journalist and campaigner Paris Lees, and Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry.
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.
There will also be 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 festival will kick off on Saturday with a carnival parade where families participating in our innovative Talent 25 programme will be showcasing their upcycled festival costumes.
Performances will take place on the Cultural eXchanges' main stage, located just outside the Campus Centre.
Marjolein Veloo, an exchange student who has come to DMU from InHolland University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, to study on the Arts and Festivals Management course here in Leicester, 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.”
Marjolein Veloo, who has helped organise this year's festival
Last year, as part of a partnership with Leicester City Council, the event became part of the council’s Riverside Festival, one of the biggest events in the city’s calendar, attracting tens of thousands of guests to the banks of the River Soar, by Bede House.
This year’s Riverside Festival is set to be bigger than ever following additional funding from Arts Council England to enable the council to extend the festival’s hours and provide even more entertainment.
THE OLD BOY will be headlining on Saturday night over at the Riverside Festival’s main stage, which will be located for the first time in Bede Park. His eclectic DJ set of soul, jazz, funk, house, garage and hip-hop will get the park bouncing from 7pm.
Also on the main stage at Bede Park over the course of the weekend will be a Tots’ Rave with DJ Juvie and Louisa Darling; melodic grunge from the Pretty Dirty Rats and a unique collaboration between Nupur Arts and KAINE choir, pairing Indian dance with African music.
Visitors enjoying last year's festival outisde the Vijay Patel
The foodies among us will be in for a treat as there will be a huge range of street food and drink, including licensed bars, located throughout the festival.
DJ Simon Philip will be bringing the festival to a close at Bede Park from 6pm on the Sunday.
Both festivals will be free to attend.
Dr Jacqui Norton, Associate Professor at DMU, has been supporting the students in organising Cultural eXchanges.
Dr Norton said: “It’s exciting for us 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.”
A full lineup of Cultural Exchanges can be found below:
Saturday
12:00pm - Talent 25 Carnival Parade
12:15pm - DMU Dance / Moving Together
12:55pm - Carl Dhiman
13:15pm - Philippa Steel
13:50pm - DMU Creative Writing
14:05pm - CD Creatives
14:20pm - DMU Creative Writing
14:50pm - WQE Battle of the Band Winners
15:30pm - Syston Scout Band
16:15pm - Lex Pretorius
17:15pm - Mirchi Mob
Workshops
13:00pm - Wallace and Gromit Craft Workshop
17:00pm - Mary O'Neill in Conversation with Nevil Holt Festival
All day - WQE Arts Award Workshop
Sunday
12:00pm - Syston Swing Band
13:00pm - Curve Youth Dance Group
13:15pm - Aakash Odedra Dance Company
13:45pm - DMU Drama Society
14:15pm - Bezlial Albert
14:45pm - Anish Patel
15:10pm - Sam the Rapper
15:45pm - Cashmere.FM
Workshops
13:00pm - Pooja Shah Knitting Workshop
More information about Riverside can be found on the Leicester City Council website.
Posted on Monday 1 June 2026