This blog is to showcase street performers you can find at Covent Garden.
Covent Garden is a district in Greater London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between Charing Cross Road and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House, which is also known as “Covent Garden”. The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the historical buildings including the Savoy Theatre.
The area was briefly settled in the 7th century when it became the heart of the Anglo-Saxon trading town of Lundenwic,[2] abandoned at the end of the 9th century. By 1200 part of it had been walled off by Westminster Abbey for use as arable land and orchards.[3] Referred to as “the garden of the Abbey and Convent”,[“”] and later “the Covent Garden”,[4] it was seized by Henry VIII and granted to the Earls of Bedford in
This article is about the street performers you can find at Covent Garden.
Each street performer has its time slots and days. You may find a great variety of performances such as dancing, singing, juggling, magic acts and more…
The main attractions:
Copperfield – an Australian magician with a box
Stephen Williams – a juggler
Bubbles – a bubble blower
Molly Moo Cow – funny cow with a moo-moo sound
Miss Jiffy Biffy – a British singer with soul dance moves
Performers at Covent Garden Street Performers
I love Covent Garden and its street performers! But I often get asked what times they perform so I thought I would do a list so you know when to go and find them. You can also check out the Covent Garden website for more details.
Note: Most of the performers are in the Piazza but some do move around. There is no guarantee that they will be there but this is a good guide to when they usually perform.
Monday:
12pm – 2pm Seb ‘El Charro’
2pm – 4pm Alex The One Man Band
3pm – 5pm Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression
Tuesday:
12pm – 2pm Seb ‘El Charro’
2pm – 4pm Alex The One Man Band
3pm – 5pm Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression
I lived in London for nearly 3 years, and I always loved visiting Covent Garden, a street in the center of the city where you can find street performers.
One day, I was there to meet with a friend but he was running late. So I went to see what kind of performances were available that day. That’s when I found out that there was a map on the wall, with all the upcoming performances.
Turns out, they have a programme every day of the week: on Mondays, there are only people doing magic; Tuesday is stand-up comedy day; Wednesday is music day; Thursday is juggling and acrobatics; Friday has an open mike night… And so on.
I found out about it by accident. But what if I had been looking for it? Where would I have started?
I couldn’t find much info online about it. It appears to be one of those things that most Londoners know about and tourists don’t! Even though there’s a lot of info on it out there, none of it talks about the schedule or how to find it.
Covent Garden is a unique location for street performers and buskers. The Piazza is a World Heritage Site and, as such, has specific rules and regulations in place that help to maintain the character of the area.
These rules and regulations are set by The Royal Opera House, Transport for London (who own the site) and Westminster City Council.
If you wish to perform at Covent Garden please contact us on 020 7836 8598 to find out what arrangements you need to make.
Please be aware that if you perform at Covent Garden without making prior arrangements you may be asked to stop performing or leave the site.
Please note: all street performers require a licence to perform on the streets of London. If you wish to perform in Covent Garden then you will also need an additional licence from Westminster City Council.
I am very impressed with the standard of performances at Covent Garden. The setting is beautiful, and there is something for everyone.
There are a variety of performers: musicians, dancers, acrobats, fire-eaters, magicians etc. There are many styles of music, opera singers, classical guitarists, string quartets etc. Performances take place at different times of the day and night – although I think the best performance are in the evening when the crowds are out.
The performers work hard to entertain you and they really get a lot of people involved. They deserve your support!
How do you choose among all these talented people? Well you can’t really know what will happen until you pay them a visit: it’s a bit like buying lottery tickets! You need to make sure that you pick one that will be fun for you and your family/friends. Just make sure that you stay safe if you decide to go! I hope this guide helps!
Last week I was in London and stumbled across Covent Garden, a street performer’s paradise. It was fascinating to watch so many talented performers in one place.
I was there at around 5pm, which seems to be the time that most of the acts are just getting started. So if you want to see a lot of different acts in one day, this is when you should go.
Around 5:15 or 5:30pm is also when the crowds start gathering, so get there early if you want some breathing room.
I recorded five great acts on video:
A juggler who uses the audience to help him “juggle” five balls in a row (he calls it “the most dangerous trick ever done on the streets of London”). He starts off with one ball and then asks for volunteers from the audience. For each new volunteer he takes another ball away from himself and puts it into the volunteer’s hand. The trick is that he has only four balls and has to do a quick swap before he gets caught!
The trick is fun to watch but I think what makes it great is his interaction with the audience. He has a very outgoing personality; he cracks jokes and keeps people laughing throughout his act. See my video below for an example