Icon of a white elephant on a purple background.

Loughborough Bell Festival

← Back to Events

A large woven sculpture of a bell with a small sign reading "Bell Festival 2023" in front, surrounded by vibrant colorful flowers outdoors.
Three men sitting on a vintage green tractor, one is reading a mobile phone, and the others are looking away or down, outdoors with trees and buildings in the background.
A group of elderly women dressed in colorful costumes, carrying sticks, and wearing decorated hats, participating in a street parade or festival.
Hanging signs in a garden display with messages like 'Ring in Hope' and 'Drop Seeds Not Bombs', with a brick wall and trees in the background.
An outdoor park scene with a large wire sculpture resembling a bell, decorated with colorful ribbons hanging from it, surrounded by fallen autumn leaves and tall trees with changing leaves as part of the Bell Festival 2024.
Shirley Novak speaking at the Loughborough Bell Festival 2024. An outdoor event, in front of a large outdoor screen displaying a photo of several people, with several people in the audience listening.
Colorful fabric strips and bows layered on top of each other in various shades of orange, pink, red, blue, purple, and yellow.

About this event:

Throughout history, bells have played a powerful role in bringing people together – calling communities to gather, marking moments of celebration, remembrance, and change. In Loughborough, the bell is more than just a sound; it is a symbol of the town’s industrial heritage and vibrant present-day community.

The Loughborough Bell Festival is a free community celebration themed around heritage and music – a chance to listen, remember and celebrate.

A woman dressed as a clergyperson, a man dressed in Victorian-style clothing with a top hat, and a large woven sculpture of a bell are outside a historic church. The man holds a white flag, and the woman is holding a cup and a small tray. The scene takes place on a grassy area with autumn leaves and trees, with a stone church in the background.

Festival beginnings:

The centrepiece of the 2023 Festival was an extraordinary 7-foot-tall willow bell created by local artist Nita Rao. Inspired by Great Paul – the largest bell ever cast in Britain, made in Loughborough for St Paul’s Cathedral – the sculpture travelled through the town from All Saints Church to the Carillon Tower in Queen’s Park on an antique trailer pulled by a steam engine. Its arrival marked the beginning of an afternoon filled with live orchestral music, heritage displays, creative workshops, and the chance for visitors to hear and try handbells themselves.

Visitors gathered in Queen’s Park for a community handbell concert where people of all ages joined in the ringing tradition, while history trails and talks explored the town’s unique role as home to John Taylor & Co, the world’s largest working bell foundry. Families took part in creative workshops, making miniature bells and sound-based artworks, while the town centre came alive with pop-up performances that filled the streets with music and movement inspired by the sound of bells. A special sound installation blended recorded bells with live music, creating an atmosphere that was both haunting and celebratory. Together, these events brought residents, artists, historians and musicians into a shared celebration of the bell as a living symbol of Loughborough.

A large, bell-shaped sculpture made of intertwined branches, decorated with colourful ribbons, situated in a park with autumn leaves on the ground and trees with fall foliage as part of the Loughborough Bell Festival 2024.

Growing the festival in 2024:

The Loughborough Bell Festival 2024 took place from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 October, offering a free three-day celebration of heritage, creativity and community spirit. The weekend opened with a dramatic peal of bells from All Saints Church, followed by a large-scale projection on the Charnwood Arts, blending community artworks, celebratory footage and historic clips from Taylor’s Bell Foundry.

Across the town, visitors explored a trail of bell-themed creativity, from a mobile belfry and interactive pop-up spaces to stalls hosted by local groups and open days at Rectory Museum. This connected Loughborough’s unique heritage with contemporary creativity in an inclusive weekend of sound, history and celebration.

Colourful fabric scraps arranged in a pattern with layers of various fabrics, including ribbons, lace, and plush materials in shades of yellow, red, purple, and blue.

‘Ringing Through Time’ A digital installation.

Ringing Through Time is an immersive digital artwork created by One to One Development Trust that celebrates Loughborough’s world renowned bell-making heritage.

At its heart is an interactive bell that transforms as you journey through a timeline, weaving together film, archive material, contemporary art, poetry, and an evocative soundtrack. Accessible on different digital devices, the work will be presented both as an online installation and as an interactive touchscreen with projection. Launching in 2026 as part of Charnwood Arts’ Bells, Bridges, and Belonging: The Spirit of Loughborough’s Past Inspiring the Future, it invites audiences to explore the legacy of bell-making in imaginative and inspiring ways.

Alongside the digital artwork, a series of creative community workshops will celebrate Loughborough’s vibrant cultures and historic connection to bells. Through art, music, poetry, storytelling, and performance, participants of all ages and backgrounds will come together to honour the town’s rich past while imagining its future.

By blending tradition with innovation, Ringing Through Time will showcase the many voices that make up Loughborough, fostering connections across generations and cultures. This is a chance to connect, celebrate, and help shape Loughborough’s story together.

Keep your eyes peeled for more information.

Colourful quilt made of scraps of fabric with sewn stuffed animals and decorations.

Annual recaps:

  • A large bell-shaped sign made of woven twigs with a small, curled stem at the top, placed near a wooden board that reads "BELL FESTIVAL 2023." The sign is surrounded by colorful flowers and plants outside a building with a gray wall.

    Bell Festival 2023

    Highlights and reporting

    Watch Video
  • Three people viewing a landscape painting of rooftops and a cloudy sky in an art gallery.

    Bell Festival 2024

    Highlights and reporting

    Watch Video