The Late Shows 2025 Dates Announced
NewcastleGateshead's annual weekend of after-hours culture, The Late Shows will return on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 May 2025.
The event is being sponsored for a second year by Creative Central NCL, who will again fund a series of artist commissions for The Late Shows 2025.
Creative Central NCL is a five-year-long project led by Newcastle City Council and funded by the North East Combined Authority. Now in its third year, the project aims to support independent artists and creative businesses in central Newcastle with investment, grants, skills development, and opportunities for growth.
Vikki Leaney, Project Manager for Creative Central NCL and Economic Development Officer at Newcastle City Council said:
“We’re really looking forward to working with The Late Shows in 2025. We’ll be looking once again for venues in central Newcastle to host commissions – whether it’s venues that have never been involved in The Late Shows before, venues that have a special history or those with unique or rarely seen spaces. Together with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, we will soon issue a call out for artists and creatives who want to create new pieces that excite and engage the public.”
Bill Griffiths, Head of Programmes & Collections at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, and Project lead for The Late Shows added:
"The Late Shows is a cornerstone in our region's cultural calendar, and we're delighted to be working once again with Creative Central NCL to make it even more spectacular. Their sponsorship will allow us to deliver an even more exciting and diverse program of events, and we can't wait to unveil the full lineup of venues and activities in spring 2025."
The Late Shows is an award-winning free late-night culture crawl – where museums, galleries, studio collectives and heritage venues come together to offer one-off events including activities, behind-the-scenes tours, performances and parties. The event is organised by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and usually features over 40 cultural venues staged across Newcastle and Gateshead.
The two-day event – now in its 17th year is a well-established part of the cultural calendar in the North East, and allows participants to sample the best of Newcastle and Gateshead's cultural offer in short taster visits.
The event will take place on Friday 16 May in the Ouseburn only and on Saturday 17 May it will be in venues across central Newcastle and Gateshead. The line-up of venues taking part will be announced in spring 2025.
