The Wexford Spiegeltent Pageant 2025 kicked off on Wexford Quay yesterday, Wednesday sixteenth October and runs till Saturday 1st November.
Now in its fourteenth 12 months, the competition has change into considered one of Eire’s most distinctive and atmospheric reside occasions – staged in one of many world’s final remaining unique Spiegeltents (that means “mirror tent”). Handcrafted from wooden, mirrors, velvet, and brocade, Spiegeltents date again to early Twentieth-century Belgium, the place they travelled from city to city internet hosting music, dance and theatre. Their mirrored partitions, ornate cubicles and round design create a uniquely intimate area that has captivated audiences for generations. As The Irish Occasions as soon as famous,
“Their round form and discreet cubicles created a way of intimacy that lent the tents a popularity for debauchery that persists to today.”
This 12 months’s performances happen in The Fortuna — the biggest Spiegeltent nonetheless in operation anyplace on this planet. Returning to Wexford’s scenic quay entrance, The Fortuna brings with it a century of historical past, craftsmanship and tales from its travels throughout the globe.
Music, Comedy and Magic Underneath Canvas
Occasion organisers Lantern have lined up an distinctive programme for the fourteenth version of what has change into a jewel in Wexford’s annual cultural calendar.
Over the Pageant’s length, spanning three weekends, audiences can count on world-class music, comedy, and efficiency in some of the atmospheric venues in Eire. Music highlights embody The Coronas, Dan McCabe, Lyra, Bell X1, Lisa Hannigan, Paul Brady, Mick Flannery & Susan O’Neill, and rising Wexford star Ruben Buggy, who headlines his first main present.
Rock followers can look ahead to The Beautiful and Qween, whereas people and trad lovers can take pleasure in Sharon Shannon and her Massive Band, joined by Steve Earle, Mundy, Camille O’Sullivan and Liam Ó Maonlaí.
Comedy takes centre stage with Jack Dee, Dylan Moran, Neil Delamere and Jarlath Regan, whereas The Day by day Dilemma Uncensored Reside guarantees a raucous evening of dialog, drag and DJs. For households, OTT Wrestling’s Halloween Slam returns on the Financial institution Vacation Monday with its trademark mixture of humour and high-flying motion.
Sustainability and Innovation
Additionally returning this 12 months is Lantern’s Cup Deposit Return Scheme, a part of the competition’s dedication to sustainability and its Go away No Hint ethos.
Ultimately 12 months’s occasion, refuse was drastically lowered and an estimated 85,000 single-use plastics had been eradicated by way of initiatives together with:
- Avoiding the usage of 65,000 single-use cups by way of a deposit return scheme
- Changing 15,000 plastic straws with paper options
- Utilizing 5,000 biodegradable cup holders constituted of moulded pulp
These practices at the moment are being rolled out throughout Lantern’s wider occasions portfolio, together with Reside on the Breakwater, eliminating greater than 155,000 single-use plastics to this point.
Programme and Tickets
With many performances already offered out, restricted tickets stay right here.
With a line-up that spans Irish rock, trad, people, comedy and efficiency — all below the shimmering mirrors of The Fortuna — Wexford Spiegeltent Pageant 2025 guarantees one other unforgettable competition on the jetty.
Supported by Wexford County Council.