Ireland’s biggest free festival is returning to Merrion Square this weekend!
Kicking off at midday on Friday (July 10), 250,000 people are expected to attend between the Laya Healthcare City Spectacular’s two weekend-long events in Dublin and Cork.
There will be inspiration, education and imagination in the ESB Spark Your Imagination area, with rapping and slapstick workshops from The Ark, mad science from Germany’s Doktor Kaboom, and wooden games from French street performers Festi-Jeux! The Super Troopers with Laya Healthcare area will feature Happy Yoga and FitKidz classes to show that increased activity levels can be fun, while the Kid’s Court will see parents being put on trial by their children, with a possible sentence of a custard pie in the face or a bucket of iced water being upended on them!
This is a particularly special year for the City Spectacular, as event Director Shell Holden explains: “This July we celebrate our 10th birthday, and to blow out our candles in style we have invited the very best international street performers, including the return of some fan favourites, to wow audiences in both Dublin and Cork.
“The festival is the highlight of the international street performance calendar and this year’s line up includes weight-lifting American strongwoman Mama Lou, Australian sword-swallower and extreme performance artist The Space Cowboy, Argentinian football freestyler Victor Rubilar and British female contortionist Bendy Em, who can fit her whole body into a 16 inch see-through box. We would love everyone – families, friends, couples, pet gold fish – to come join in the celebrations and enjoy our free festival this July.”
Brought to you by the same people who organised the 14,000-strong Where’s Wally record, the Laya Healthcare City Spectacular is promising to be packed full of family fun!
The event will be running from Friday, July 10 to Sunday, July 12. You can view a map of the layout and check out the full programme here.
By Aimée Mac Leod