A festival with fire in its heart.
Encounter Festival.
Preston’s biggest cultural weekender is gearing up for something bigger. Encounter Festival has secured £79,000 from Arts Council England, a serious vote of confidence in the city’s creative future and the people shaping it.
The funding backs the next chapter of Encounter Festival and starts laying the foundations for Preston Guild 2032. Right at the centre of it all is the Torchlight Procession, the festival’s standout moment, set to grow in scale, energy, and ambition, with even more local people involved in making it happen.
Returning on Saturday 19 September, Encounter is evolving from a one-off event into something with deeper roots. The plan is to establish Preston as a national home for large-scale processional work, bringing artists, makers, performers, and communities together to build something bold in the streets of the city. People won’t just watch it happen, they’ll help create it, learning skills in design, performance, fabrication, and production along the way.
This is about more than one festival. Arts Council England’s backing also kickstarts a long-term plan to grow creative skills across Preston in the run-up to Guild 2032, opening up pathways through schools, training programmes, apprenticeships, and hands-on industry experience.
The goal is clear: build the confidence, talent, and infrastructure needed to deliver a Guild celebration that feels ambitious, modern, and unmistakably Preston.
The funding will also help transform the Harris Quarter during Encounter 2026, filling the city centre with live music, outdoor performance, workshops, and family activity throughout the day before the Torchlight Procession takes over after dark. More than 500 performers, artists, and community groups are expected to move through the streets in a huge collective display of creativity and pride.
Adrian Phillips, Chief Executive at Preston City Council, said: “As the countdown to Preston Guild 2032 begins, Encounter Festival is becoming both a cultural spark and a driver for long-term change in the city. This investment from Arts Council England gives real momentum to that vision. Against the backdrop of 800 years of Guild history, Encounter will help shape a celebration that feels contemporary, inclusive, and connected to the people and stories of Preston and Lancashire.”
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