Covent Garden celebrates 50 years of street performance

Community celebration marks milestone for iconic London tradition – as uncertainty around future still lingers…

The Covent Garden Street Performers Association (CGSPA) is proud to announce a major public celebration marking 50 years of modern street performance in Covent Garden.

Taking place on Sunday 11 May 2025, the one-day event will feature a full programme of performances from past and present artists, including poet and performer John Hegley, who began his career busking in Covent Garden in the 1980s. Hegley, now a celebrated figure on the UK poetry and comedy circuit, has often spoken about the formative role that street performance played in shaping his work – and continues to champion its cultural value today.

The milestone marks half a century of organised street theatre in the square – a tradition that has delighted millions of visitors and helped launch the careers of household names such as Eddie Izzard, Dynamo and Stomp.

Festivities begin with an 11-piece brass band parading through Covent Garden, signalling the start of the day’s performances both on the West Piazza and at the nearby May Fayre & Puppet Festival in the Actors’ Church gardens — a celebration of Punch and Judy, who have delighted audiences in Covent Garden for the same remarkable 50-year span.

Covent Garden Street Performers Association Archive Photo

Across the day, the piazza will come alive with a dazzling line-up of street performers — from internationally acclaimed artists to long-time Covent Garden favourites. Expect astonishing feats from Magic Sam, fresh from levitating Machine Gun Kelly on stage in the US, and Juma, a hand-balancing acrobat who balances seven feet in the air, Juma is a member of the world-renowned Black Eagles, known for balancing in handstands atop stilts.

Audiences can also catch high-energy ladder acrobatics and clowning from Unstable Acts, daring Cyr wheel tricks from Chris Thomas (a graduate of the National Circus School), and a trampoline-meets-breakdancing double act from Karbula (of Romania’s Got Talent) and Dan Edwards.

The day also celebrates Covent Garden’s long-standing performers. Mighty Gareth, who wowed crowds with sword-swallowing acts in the 1990s, returns to perform alongside his son Yann Elvis, now a chainsaw juggler — a joyful nod to two generations of street artistry. Juggling double act The Others, made up of Jim Woodcock and Alex Dandridge, will reunite for the event – with Dandridge bringing his decades of experience (including appearances on The Paul Daniels Magic Show) back to the square.

Luca London, who once busked here alongside Formula 1’s Eddie Jordan, also makes a return. Otiz Cannelloni, another celebrated veteran, will bring his signature blend of magic and comedy. The event features not one but two Charlie Chaplins: the first, a legendary performer in his 80s and former personal entertainer to the Shah of Persia; the second, Covent Garden regular Diego Spano.

There will be musical comedy and juggling from Paul Morocco, clowning and physical theatre from The Great Gabrielle, and daring variety from Heavy Metal Pete, who will perform contortion, sword-swallowing, and his signature bed-of-nails routine. Joining the festivities are Mat Boden, who walks a slack rope and contorts himself through a tennis racket; Hunter Juggler, with his unicycle and juggling act; and Spikey Will: Man of Danger, known for towering on stilts and lying on sharp things.

Audiences can also enjoy music from Sammie J, ventriloquism from Steph and her puppet Gordo, and expert juggling from Harvey Stinton, a 16-year-old performer who has been delighting Covent Garden crowds since the age of 14. Rounding out the line-up are Covent Nick and Little Nick, whose act includes a giant ball, a ladder, and no shortage of charm.

Adding to the joyful, community-centred atmosphere, the celebration will also feature performances from young dancers at PPAS, formerly of Pineapple Dance Studios, as well as a mass sing-along led by the West End Musical Choir. Throughout the day, audiences will be encouraged to join in, take part in a dance workshop, and chat with performers — a fitting tribute to Covent Garden’s welcoming, open-to-all spirit.

Covent Garden Street Performers Association Archive Photo

The West End Musical Choir is the UK’s leading adult musical theatre choir, conducted by Musical Directors from the West End and Broadway. As seen on BBC’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, Disneyland Paris, St Paul’s Cathedral, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace and many more iconic stages, the Choir will perform a selection of well-loved musical theatre tunes on the day.

An exhibition of photographs by renowned photographer Sarah Ainslie, capturing Covent Garden street performers in the 1980s, will also run throughout May at the Paul Smith shop on Floral Street, celebrating the history and evolution of street theatre in the area.

Throughout the day, CGSPA spokesperson Melvyn Altwarg will pop up with a few short, friendly speeches – welcoming the crowd, sharing stories from the past 50 years, and gently filling people in on the less-fun-but-important reality of the licensing limbo Covent Garden’s performers still face.

“Street performance is the heartbeat of Covent Garden,” said Covent Garden Street Performers Association (CGSPA) performer and spokesperson Peter Kolofsky “We’re incredibly proud to celebrate this anniversary with the public – and to honour everyone who’s kept the spirit of live performance alive for 50 years.”