Returning for another phenomenal year, Totally Thames festival offers an awe-inspiring festival of music, dance, film, installations, walks, river clean-ups and more this September! This month-long programme invites Londoners to connect with and enjoy the capital’s multi-faceted river. From immersive art installations and community-led concerts to historic exhibitions and amazing mud-larking events (above), the festival spotlights the stories, struggles and splendour of the River Thames.
With the river facing mounting environmental pressures, from pollution to habitat loss, this year’s festival places a renewed focus on ecology and care. Artists across a variety of disciplines will respond to the river’s challenges, using creative expression to spark awareness, inspire dialogue, and imagine more sustainable futures. Curated and managed by Thames Festival Trust, the team works collaboratively with artists and communities to celebrate the river’s past, present and future.
Totally Thames festival 2025 premieres River of Sound: an exciting new partnership with London’s Community Radio Station for the Arts & Culture, Resonance FM presenting exclusive riverine long form avant-audio excursions throughout the festival month of September.
Choreographer Samara Langham’s SKYE ZONE Burial (pictured below) transforms the Brunel Museum into a dream-like aquatic world, where dancers embody water’s dual nature: nurturing and unpredictable. Set in a primordial, imagined world, through movement and original sound design, the piece reflects on transformation, fragility and our shared interdependence with the natural world — an urgent reminder for audiences.
At St Katharine Docks, on 6th and 7th September, the 16th Classic Boat Festival will offer visitors a close-up view of over 50 vintage vessels, including Dunkirk Little Ships and heritage tugs. Alongside these incredible events, will be a programme of talks, music, family activities and nautical antiques invites reflection on how London’s stories of the past can guide more sustainable stewardship of the river’s future.
This year’s Great River Race on 20th September brings together more than 300 crews for a 21.6-mile journey from Millwall to Richmond, supporting charities from across the UK and beyond. Amongst the hundreds of vessels in this colourful ‘river marathon’, a junior crew from Cornwall flies a dual Ukrainian-Cornish flag, symbolising hope and solidarity, while The Firkin Berks row in memory of boat designer Bob Berk in his handcrafted vessel.
Programme
Title St Katharine Docks Classic Boat Festival
Dates Saturday 6th September (11:00–17:00) & Sunday 7th September (11:00–16:00)
Location St Katharine Docks, 50 St Katharine’s Way, London E1W 1LA
Title River Recital 2025 Summer Concert
Date Sunday 7th September
Location The Arts Ark, Tower Bridge Moorings, 31 Mill Street, SE1 2AX
Title Conduit
Date Saturday 13th September
Location Crossness Pumping Station, Bazalgette Way, Abbey Wood, London SE2 9AQ
Title Great River Race
Date Saturday 20th September
Location From Millwall in the East to Richmond in the West
Title SKYE ZONE Burial
Date Saturday 27th September
Location Brunel Museum, Railway Avenue, Rotherhithe, London SE16 4LF
Title River of Sound
Date September (24-hour broadcast, exact date TBC)
Location Resonance FM (104.4FM in Central London, DAB in Greater London and online worldwide at resonancefm.com/listen), with features from multiple river locations
Thames Festival Trust gratefully acknowledges Port of London Authority’s sponsorship of the Totally Thames festival. Jenny Cooper-Low, PLA’s Thames Vision and Partnerships Lead comments, “Totally Thames plays a vital role in bringing the river to life for Londoners and visitors alike; not just as a waterway, but as a space of history, culture, and opportunity. “
“The PLA is proud to support the festival in making the Thames more accessible and inclusive, particularly for young people and underrepresented communities. Through creative programming and community engagement, Totally Thames is helping to raise awareness of foreshore safety, promote environmental sustainability, and inspire future careers in the maritime sector; all of which directly contribute to the goals of our vision for the tidal Thames and our broader commitment to social impact.“
The Thames Festival Trust is an arts organisation which delivers festivals, stand-alone commissions, river- based events, heritage projects and education programmes. We have a twenty-one-year track record of using learning, culture and creativity to amaze, excite and inform. Our work helps bring communities together, originally around the River Thames, and now in cities across the UK and the world.
For more information on the Trust and the Festival, please check out https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/ or https://totallythames.org
Images: above Mudlarking, Helen & Christopher Marsland (c) Jon Barlow
below SKYE ZONE Burial (c) Deborah Jaffe
