Rawkus City

Rawkus City returns to Guildhall Square on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, the only free festival on the south coast dedicated to hip-hop dance, music, arts and theatre. It's back during Portsmouth's centenary year, and it's free to attend.

The festival is put on by the Portsmouth-based hip-hop dance company Funk Format & Soul Rawkus CIC as part of a two-year programme running to 2028, and it's supported by public funding from Arts Council England through National Lottery Project Grants. It also sits within the wider LOOK UP Portsmouth street art festival, so there's more going on around the city that weekend than just this.

It first launched in 2024 as a movement championing creativity, community and the future of hip-hop arts in Portsmouth and the Solent. That pilot year drew around 1,200 people to the square, with Olympic-level athletes from Japan, Ukraine and China taking part. If you're into the dance side of things, that's the kind of scale it's worked with before.

And it doesn't stop when the weekend ends: attendees can sign up for a skills development programme after the festival. It's a good thing to keep in mind if you're going as a dancer or artist rather than just a spectator.

It runs across two days at Guildhall Square (PO1 2), with Saturday from 12:00 to 21:00 and Sunday starting from 12:00. Entry is free.