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Notts Pride, immersive theatre shows and great sporting events: here's what's on in Nottingham this week: events 20 July - 26 July

This week in Notts is just as vibrant as the last. If you're still not ready to say goodbye to the summer festivals, Boho Festival might be your solution. Or maybe you're looking for a change of pace? Whether it's an immersive theatre show at People's Hall, sporting events to get your adrenaline pumping, live music and more, here's what Nottingham has to offer this week...

How Dale Harvey's 'Great British Pub Crawl' became a social media sensation

Dale Harvey is a man on a mission to champion and save British Pubs. A former publican, in March 2022 he, alongside his partner Holly Booth, set themselves the challenge to visit every pub in Notts. A year or two later, having completed this, they expanded to covering all the pubs in England, Scotland and Wales too. Thus the social media sensation The Great British Pub Crawl was born. Four years, 9500+ beers and over 300k social media followers later ‘Professional Drinker’ Dale is fast closing in on visiting his 10,000th pub…

Breakin’ Convention brings Hip Hop to Notts: founder Jonzi D tells all

Founded by Jonzi D, Hip Hop dance festival Breakin’ Convention returns to the Theatre Royal and Concert Hall this month. Bringing together world-class artists such as Ivan Michael Blackstock – a visionary creative behind choreography for Beyoncé - and local voices from rapper and spoken word performer Jah Digga to Hyson Green’s Take1Dance studio, in a celebration of dance, music and storytelling. Ahead of what’s guaranteed to be a boundary pushing celebration of one of the most exciting art forms to watch, Jonzi D talks to us about challenging preconceptions about where Hip Hop belongs… 

14 great music festivals in and around Nottingham for 2026

You can feel it starting... The evenings are lighter and the first warm weekends spark everybody into optimism, and suddenly someone shares a line-up in a group chat and writes, ‘We have to go!’

Across Nottinghamshire and the wider east midlands, 2026 is shaping up to be another packed one. Big-name headliners, grassroots weekends, city takeovers and quieter escapes all sit side-by-side. If you want to start planning your festival season soon, here are some suggestions. 

Undercover Artist: Dani Bacon snaps Notts most curious emporium, Hopkinson Vintage, Antiques and Art Centre

We chat to LeftLion Photography Co-editor and this month’s cover artist, Dani Bacon about photography, juggling projects and Bjork...

Exploring antiques, art and community treasure trove Hopkinson Vintage

Hidden gem Hopkinson could be described as what happens when a Victorian hardware store has a wildly creative midlife crisis - and we mean that in the best way. Part-shop, part-café bar, part-museum (and occasionally part-maze), this four storey antiques and art centre is packed with independent artists, vintage trinkets, handmade oddities, and curiosities you definitely didn’t plan on buying but absolutely will. Co-owner, Bryony Woodgates, talks about her tenure co-directing the space with Ash Hudson…

The Thompsons talk parking restrictions, meditation and their hope for 2026

For our new year's convo with Nottingham's most opinionated grocers, we talked about wellness tips, new Sherwood parking restrictions, and their hopes for 2026... 

Sunday Service: eight great spots in Notts for a roast

As we move through winter, the season of traditional British roast dinners is upon us. Here we’ve picked out eight of our favourite city centre spots to hide away for a feast with your friends and family…

School children plant tiny forest they hope community will "cherish to the heart"

School children and members of the local community have planted 3,000 trees at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy, laying the foundations for a ‘microforest’ that will enrich the area for generations.

Driving hope: Renew therapy at Nottingham Women's Centre

Since 1971, Nottingham Women’s Centre has provided a comfortable and supportive space for self-identifying women based in and around Nottingham. Within this time, the centre has been met with many changes and new developments. Among these is Renew: individualised counselling which has been self-funded for the past three years. Today more popular than ever, the team at NWC are keen to give Renew a boost. Kayla Sibanda spoke to Emilly Gill-Howe, Senior Fundraising Officer at NWC, to find out why the service is so important and their upcoming fundraising activities…

Seven great Notts spots for thrifted and vintage fashion

In celebration of Second Hand September, fashion editor, Addie Kenogbon-Harley gives us the lowdown on how to grab a bargain, look after the planet and get your hands on the best thrifted treasures this month.

We chat to Day Fever co-founder Jonny Owen

Day Fever is less than two years old but has already become a cultural sensation. Launched in early 2024 with a debut event in Sheffield’s City Hall Ballroom and growing to a nationwide tour that’s sees thousands around the UK hit the dance floor each month, the message is clear: people everywhere are craving a space to let loose, laugh, and dance, all before 8pm. Ahead of Day Fever's return to Nottingham on 20th September, We sat down with co-founder Jonny Owen to discuss how the event came about, how it has become so popular and why Nottingham is the ideal venue...

How the Queer Adventure Collective are connecting the LGBTQ+ community in the great outdoors

As much as we don’t endorse stereotypes at LeftLion, there is something to be said about the correlation between a large proportion of the Queer community, and the outdoors – we bloody love a hike! Queer Adventure Collective (QAC) began in March and is the Midlands’ new (and rapidly growing) LGBTQIA+ group. LeftLion caught up with founder Meg Atkinson, to talk about everything adventure. 

Soul Survivor: veteran DJ Jonathan on cutting his teeth at The Palais in the 1970s

Jonathan (aka Jonathan Woodliffe) has a long history of DJing in Nottingham. To many his name is synonymous to many with the early days of Rock City, but before that he cut his teeth as a DJ at The Palais. We asked Jonathan about his experiences of the Palais back in those halcyon days of the 1970s…

LeftLion Interviews Podcast #9 DJ Jonathan on The Palais, the changing art of DJing, Northern Soul, Jazz Funk and Tiswas

Our first podcast of 2025 and we're back with a chinwag with a veteran DJ, talking through the 1970s Nottingham scene at The Palais De Danse, as well as the changing face of music, festivals and more...