Day two of three days of CarFest 2025 – The last time it will be held at Laverstoke Farm in Hampshire, it’s home since Chris Evans began the UK’s biggest children’s charity family fundraising festival in 2012.
It will move to Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire across the August bank holiday weekend: 28th to 30th August 2026.
CarFest founder Chris Evans says: “This move opens up possibilities we’ve never had before – more space, more cars, more ways to surprise and delight our audience, and most importantly, more opportunities to raise money for children’s charities. The heart of CarFest will always stay the same.”
Silverstone’s CEO Stuart Pringle adds: “CarFest is the ultimate summer celebration and a perfect fit for Silverstone. Together we can deliver an even bigger and better event while raising vital funds for charity.”
The 2025 edition, presented by BP Pulse, saw perfect weather on the first two days, and up to 35,000 people per day flocking to the 2,500 acre farm owned by ex-racing driver and 1979 Formula 1 World Champion Jody Scheckter.
An ambitious lineup of music acts, with soulful pop princess Rita Ora topping the bill on Saturday, after Travis headlined on night # one, and Madness to close the event on Sunday. Today [Saturday] also featured Busted, Kim Wilde, Sam Ryder and Rick Parfitt Jr., among other superb bands and artists.
Carfest is far more than just the live music on several stages, this is a very family friendly eclectic arts festival with authors [such as David Walliams, Queen Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles, and Dom Joly] and chefs [such as Rosemary Shrager and hairy Biker Si King].
Plus comedians [such as Lee Mack, Strictly winner Chris McCausland, Ed Byrne, and Rob Brydon], actors [such as Ben Miller] and athletes [such as Sir Chris Hoy, Sally Gunnell and Denise Lewis], and many, many celebrity appearances across the event.
CarFest [the clue is in the title!] has HUGE appeal for petrolheads of course, with cars galore on and off the track, from vintage to rare and lots of valuable supercars, and many famous faces from the motoring world. Richard “Hamster” Hammond from Top Gear and The Grand Tour for one.
CarFest’s children’s charity partners include BBC Children in Need, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Rainbow Trust, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Teenage Cancer Trust and Young Epilepsy, continuing its charity mission to help vulnerable children, and it has which raised in excess of £27,000,000 so far.
- Check out our coverage of Friday and Sunday…
Photos by Liam Battersby
Words by Rowena Edos and Liam Battersby
