A FREE festival which brings together urban sports, music and art is ramping up to return to Sunderland this summer.
Last year’s Urban Fest – organised by Sunderland City Centre BID – brought together everyone from professional BMXers to top-of-their-game skateboarders, who gave thrilling demonstrations of their skills.
And now Urban Fest will be back at Sunniside Gardens on August 2-3, with an even bigger programme, which includes the opportunity for visitors to learn from the best.
The event is welcoming back King Ramps, who are known nationally for creating bespoke skateparks and have their own professional skate and BMX teams who will be performing at the festival.
King Ramps will be building a ramp in Sunniside Gardens, where the skills of all the experts will be on show, including a range of scooter display skills.
On Saturday 2 August Urban Fest will also welcome a team from skateboard experts, Shred The North who will be hosting workshops and competitions, with Red Bull supporting skate jams in the skatepark on Sunday.
Jarrow-based skate park, Override, will be taking along some of their team across the weekend, who will also be giving a number of breathtaking displays.
Richie Inskip, from King Ramps, said the team were delighted to be returning for Urban Fest 2025.
“We’re bringing along some of the UK’s top riders who are guaranteed to bring some adrenaline fuelled antics and inspiring performances to the festival’s schedule,” he said.
King Ramps will also be delivering a range of workshops across the weekend, open to everyone from beginners right through to those with more experience.
“It doesn’t matter if someone hasn’t skated before or never stood on a skateboard, our amazing coaches will have everyone rolling in no time,” said Richie.
A range of street food and drinks will be available, along with street art workshops and DJs.
Roberta Redecke, marketing and events managerat Sunderland BIDs – which includes Sunderland City Centre BID and Sunderland Seafront BID – believes the festival has something to offer to everyone.
“Last year’s event was a huge success and brought something unique targeted at people across the city and beyond, with plenty of activities to interest a wider audience,” she said.
“Events like this help to increase local pride and also engage with hard to reach communities, as well as providing a real boost for businesses in the area, thanks to the additional footfall.”
Sunderland City Centre BID is part of Sunderland’s BIDs, which includes Sunderland Seafront BID.
Funding for Urban Fest is supported by The UK Shared Prosperity Fund which aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
For more information, visit sunderlandbid.co.uk/urbanfest
