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Circus City immersed me in a world where ideas … took flight and went in directions I could have never guessed. I’ve realised …. how important it is to protect ideas because you never know how amazing these might become (Volunteer Feedback 2023)

Circus City is a leading national performing arts organisation for the development of contemporary circus.  Based in Bristol and originating from a biennial festival that launched in 2015 we are now internationally recognised for our work.

Our work was born from a desire to celebrate Bristol as a city of circus. But more than that, it’s about creating a circus city – a place where artists, audiences, and shared experiences come together in powerful, playful, and unexpected ways.

Our Mission

We are dedicated to sharing the power of collective live experiences for audiences and peers, recognising the unique experience that happens when we share moments of awe, joy, and challenge together.

Through our Vision we aim to:

Drive Change

  • Transforming culture and society by challenging conventions, disrupting hierarchies, and ensuring underrepresented voices lead the way.
  • Exploring circus as a dynamic catalyst for change, addressing contemporary issues, and reshaping how art inspires and impacts society.

Forge Encounters

  • Creating spaces where communities, artists and audiences can share joy, curiosity and challenge collectively; fostering human connection through the power of live performance.
  • Building bridges between personal and global perspectives, creating shared experiences that inspire dialogue, cross-pollination and creativity.

Experiment

  • Championing and platforming artist-led experimentation and embracing risk, cultivating a laboratory for bold ideas that redefines what circus can be and do.
  • Supporting forward-thinking research that embraces fresh dialogue, technology and perspectives, investing in future audiences.

Our year-round programme includes place-based outdoor performances, residencies, workshops and artists development opportunities. We punctuate this biannually with Circus City, the largest UK (and only English) festival dedicated to contemporary circus.

The Next 5 years

Our goal for 2025-30 is to evolve our year-round programme ensuring that it is sustainable, integrated into the community, and celebrates Bristol as a city of circus accessible to all.

You can read more about Our Work and Our Impact.

Nicole A’Court Stuart & Rhiannon Jones

Artistic Director & Executive Director, Circus City


Circus City festival is proud to have George Ferguson, Bristol’s first elected Mayor, as our patron.

George kicked off Bristol’s ambition to be a City of Circus in 2012 and has been an enthusiastic supporter of our work ever since


Meet The Team:

Amy Nicholls

Trustee

Kate Webb

Chair of Trustees

Sascha Goslin

Trustee

Nicole A’Court Stuart

Artistic Director

Rhiannon Jones

Executive Director

Thea Woodrow

General Manager

Haleema Mekani

Trustee

Manya Benenson

Trustee

Anna Duncan

Trustee