Rebellion Festival fills Blackpool's Winter Gardens with punk every August

Every August, the elegant Victorian halls of Blackpool's Winter Gardens are taken over by mohawks, leather jackets and loud guitars. Rebellion Festival is one of the biggest punk gatherings in the world, and Blackpool is its home.

The festival has been running continuously in one form or another since 1996. Its long history has earned it a loyal following, with many fans making the trip to Blackpool year after year.

The 2025 edition took place from 7 to 10 August. Over four days, the festival presented more than 300 punk and alternative acts across eight stages, all under the roof of the Winter Gardens, one of Blackpool's grandest historic entertainment complexes.

The line-up mixed legends and newer names. Previews highlighted The Damned, Millencolin, Public Image Ltd, The Exploited, Peter Hook and The Light and Bad Manners among the acts, and Friday and Saturday day tickets had sold out by the time the stage times were published.

Rebellion is an indoor festival, which makes it something of a rarity in the British summer calendar. Whatever the weather does outside, the music carries on across the venue's ballrooms and halls.

It is also more welcoming than its reputation might suggest. The festival is all ages and family friendly, and coverage of the event regularly notes the warm, community feel among the thousands of fans who attend. Organiser-linked material has put the gathering at around 8,000 people, many of whom treat the weekend as an annual reunion with old friends.

Bands come from far and wide to play. Brighton and Hove News reported on bands from its own city playing at what it called the largest punk festival, while music magazines such as Punktuation ran daily reviews throughout the weekend.

For Blackpool, Rebellion brings a welcome boost to hotels, bars and restaurants in the heart of the summer season. Details of future festivals, line-ups and tickets are published on the official Rebellion website, and popular day tickets are worth booking early. Whether you were there for the first wave of punk or are discovering it now, it is a weekend like no other on the Lancashire coast.