Charlie's Festival 2025

On 12th July, we held our biggest event to date! Hundreds of people turned out on one of the hottest days of the year to support Charlie’s Promise, remember Charlie, and honour others who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime.

Charlie’s Festival was bursting with energy, excitement, and community spirit. The day featured eight sensational live performers, two amazing DJs, a magician, and the grand unveiling of Charlie’s Bar, an amazing creation built by Charlie’s friend Oli Sheehan. Families enjoyed a wide range of food, games, and prizes, creating a fun-filled atmosphere for everyone.

Our Kid Friendly Zone was complete with a bouncy inflatable, classic favourites such as Splat the Rat and Pick a Peg, face painting and festival hair and the ever-popular Teddy Tombola.

Our incredible BBQ chefs returned once again, serving up delicious food with their friendly and cheeky banter. We had many compliments about our sausages and burgers and we were extremely grateful to The Surrey Butchers who generously donated all the meat free of charge. This year we introduced nachos as a tasty new addition served by Josefine, another incredible chef, alongside a fully stocked bar and pimms tent run by our friendly team who did an amazing job keeping the drinks chilled in 34 degree heat. Hot drinks and tasty treats were also served throughout the day as well as ice creams , popcorn and candy floss, strawberries and cream and a fresh pizza van in the evening. Adding even more fun to the day, magician and mind reader Richard Kettle, kept crowds entertained and amazed with his mind blowing tricks.

We were honoured to welcome our good friend Julie Taylor, founder of The Liam Taylor Legacy, set up in memory of her 19-year-old grandson who was tragically stabbed to death in 2020. Julie came with her husband and grandaughter to show support, and was joined by Quinton Green, a youth mentor and powerful anti-knife crime campaigner, who performed a moving tribute poem dedicated to Charlie and to remember all the young lives lost to knife crime.

A huge screen displayed heartfelt tributes to some of those we’ve lost, and as the sun set, the crowd raised blue lights high in their honour — a truly emotional and unifying moment.

A massive thank you to all our sponsors, to the generous companies and individuals who donated such incredible prizes for our raffle and tombolas, to every member of #TeamCharlie who helped set up, clear up, and run stalls, and of course to everyone who came along, joined in, and made the day unforgettable.

We raised over £10,000 which is an incredible amount. Your support enables us to continue our vital work and to celebrate Charlie’s memory in the most meaningful way.

Click on the video to view stunning drone footage of the day, captured by Luke Whatley-Bigg