Exeter's Global Festival: what is actually on

If you have been keeping an eye out for a big city-wide Global Festival this autumn, it is worth knowing what is actually on the calendar before you head out. There is no confirmed city-wide Global Festival 2026 with a public programme, dates or venue, so if you have been waiting for a line-up to be announced, that is not coming. What does exist, however, is a student event with the same name, and it is the only thing carrying the Global Festival banner in Exeter this season.

The Exeter Students' Guild is running its own Global Festival 2026 this evening, Monday 9 November, at the Business School. It starts at 17:30, it is free to attend, and it is built around accessibility: there is international lift access, step-free access throughout and a quiet space if you need a break from the noise. It is a student-run evening rather than a city-wide festival, so it is worth going in with that in mind, but it is the one place the name is actually attached to a date and a door this month.

For anyone who has been confusing this with the Respect Festival, that is a different beast entirely. The Exeter Respect Festival 2026 already happened back in June, running across Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 at Belmont Park. That was its 29th year, themed 'Different Roots, One Community', with three stages of live music and dance from around the world, a book cycle for storytelling and talks on social justice, multicultural food stalls, children's and family activities and community stalls. Entry was a symbolic £2, free for under-16s, and it is billed as the longest-running festival in the South West dedicated to diversity, equality and human rights. If that is the kind of event you were hoping for, the good news is that it is already lined up for next year.

The Exeter Respect Festival 2027 is set for Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June at Belmont Park, Belmont Road, EX4 6SS, and it marks the 30th anniversary of the first Respect Festival held in Exeter in 1997. The theme is 'Celebrating Unity', and the format stays the same: three stages of live music and dance from around the world, storytelling and talks on social justice, equality and inclusion, multicultural food stalls, children's activities and community stalls. It is alcohol-free, held in a public park with step-free access, and gates open at 11:30 on the Saturday and 11:00 on the Sunday. It pulls in around 20,000 people every year and sits a short walk from the city centre, near Exeter Central station, so it is easy to get to without much planning. Entry is again a symbolic £2, free for under-16s.

So, to recap: the city-wide Global Festival you may have heard about is not a thing, the Respect Festival has already come and gone for this year, and the only Global Festival actually happening is the free Students' Guild evening at the Business School at 17:30 today. If you want a proper world-music-and-food weekend, the Respect Festival's 30th anniversary in June is the one to circle in your diary.