Fierce Festival

What Fierce Festival does

Fierce Festival is a registered charity (No. 1110138) and Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation based in Birmingham, UK, operating as the longest-established live arts festival in the UK since its founding in 1997. Its core product is a curated biennial contemporary performance and live art festival featuring commissioned international works, UK debuts, and co-productions, supplemented by a year-round programme including the nomadic Fierce Jams series, the touring participatory project Public Trust (Paul Ramírez Jonas), Artists Behind Bars, and the Live Art Writers Network (LAWN). Programming is curatorial rather than open-submission, with artists selected by Artistic Director Clayton Lee through international networks and partnerships.

The festival generates revenue through ticket sales and tiered festival passes (Bear £100-£125, Otter £70-£90, Pup £40-£50), public funding from Arts Council England (regular standstill settlements plus project-specific grants), donations, merchandise and online shop sales (processed via PayPal on the website), and commissioned co-production partnerships. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer via Ticket Tailor and venue partner booking systems, with touring productions extending reach to other UK festivals under the Public Trust programme.

The organisation is governed by a Board of Trustees and led by Artistic Director Clayton Lee alongside a newly appointed Executive Director (2025), following leadership transitions that included the departure of co-directors Catherine Groom and Pippa Frith. Operating from a small core team (1-10 employees) with freelance Festival Producer support, Fierce serves general arts audiences in Birmingham, supports Birmingham and Midlands artists through paid opportunities, and maintains deep national and international co-production partnerships with organisations including Birmingham Hippodrome, Flanders arts bodies, performingborders, Take Me Somewhere, and members of the Horizon Showcase network.

Name

Fierce Festival

Legal name

Fierce Festival

Website

https://wearefierce.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fierce Festival is a Birmingham-based registered charity and Arts Council England NPO that runs the UK's longest-established biennial live arts festival, presenting curated international contemporary performance for general audiences, Birmingham artists, and UK touring partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Arts Festival

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Live arts festival
• Contemporary performance
• Artist commissions
• Performance programming
• Live art curation

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket sales and festival passes: Fierce generates revenue through ticket sales for individual shows and tiered festival passes (Bear/Full Week, Otter/Weekend Max, Pup/Weekend Lite). Some events are free.
2. Donations: A donations page is available on the website under Support Us, allowing public contributions to the organisation.
3. Public funding (Arts Council England): Fierce is a registered charity and Arts Council England NPO (National Portfolio Organisation), receiving regular standstill settlements from its core funder. The organisation also receives project-specific funding for major commissions and events.
4. Merchandise sales: Fierce sells merchandise including t-shirts (e.g., Key to the City project t-shirts) and previously sold a white dance floor, rattan chairs, and vintage pans from past productions.
5. Online shop (tickets and products): Ticket and product purchases are processed by PayPal via a secure server. Fierce uses Mailchimp for mailing list communications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fierce Festival operates a curated biennial international festival of contemporary performance and live art in Birmingham, UK, presenting bold international work in live art, dance, and experimental theatre. Beyond the biennial festival, it runs a year-round programme including the Fierce Jams nomadic performance series, the touring participatory project Public Trust, the recurring Artists Behind Bars events, the Live Art Writers Network (LAWN), artist residencies, and community engagement initiatives such as the Festival Hub.

Product overview

Fierce Festival is Birmingham's longest-established international live arts festival, operating as a curated biennial event that brings bold contemporary performance to the city. The organization also runs ongoing programmes including Fierce Jams (nomadic performance series), Public Trust (touring participatory art project), and Artists Behind Bars (artist-run bar events). Core festival editions have featured commissioned works like The Making of Pinocchio, Twine, and Entepfuhl. The portfolio includes co-produced projects with international artists and touring productions available to other venues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fierce Jams: A new, ongoing, and nomadic performance series that indulges in small-scale experiments in contemporary performance and live art.
• Public Trust

Products and services

• Fierce Festival Birmingham's longest-established biennial international live arts festival presenting curated bold contemporary performance, dance, and experimental theatre across multiple city venues.
• Fierce Jams An ongoing, nomadic performance series featuring small-scale experiments in contemporary performance and live art, engaging 4 Birmingham-based artists plus guest national/international artists per edition; selected artists receive £300 plus up to £50 in materials.
• Public Trust A participatory public realm project by Paul Ramírez Jonas in which participants declare promises recorded in drawings and published on a monumental marquee board; available for touring nationally to UK partner festivals and venues.
• Artists Behind Bars A recurring Fierce event at Eastside Projects in Digbeth, Birmingham, where artists create and run their own bars for one night; participants receive a £200 seeding fee and have generated over £750 in profit each.
• Live Art Writers Network (LAWN) A network cultivating experimental writing practices in dialogue with performance and live art, commissioned by performingborders, Fierce, Take Me Somewhere, and METAL Culture, supported by Arts Council England and the Necessity Fund.

Quantifiable outcome

• Public Trust project engaged nearly 10,000 people over a 4-day period at Transform Festival alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• China Plate TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 October 2024Co-presented the Producer Gathering Midlands Social with Producer Gathering and Fierce Festival on 18 October 2024. China Plate is a Birmingham-based theatre producing and development company operating nationally and internationally, specialising in supporting independent theatre makers.
• Producer Gathering (led by Marlborough Productions)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 October 2024Initiative led by Marlborough Productions fostering a supportive network for producers across the UK. Fierce co-presented the Midlands Social event with China Plate and Producer Gathering in October 2024.
• Centrala (Birmingham)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2024Fierce collaborated with Centrala to present a panel discussion featuring CEEUs Network, artist-in-residence Nela Milic, and Olga Drygas at Fierce Festival 2024, exploring artistic expression across borders.
• THIS IS DANCE partnership (Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Rep, Fabric, Midlands Arts Centre, Sampad Arts)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTHIS IS DANCE is an international dance season in Birmingham bringing internationally recognised artists to the city. Fierce is a partner alongside five major Birmingham arts organisations. Fierce's Festival Hub is located at House of Beorma during the festival.
• Paul Ramírez JonascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFierce is the UK custodian of Public Trust by Paul Ramírez Jonas, originally commissioned by Now and There. Fierce has built a long-term relationship with the artist since Key to the City (2022) and now manages national touring of the work.
• Transform Festival (Leeds)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic Trust toured to Transform Festival in October 2023, engaging nearly 10,000 people over a 4-day period. Fierce describes Transform Festival as a supportive partner with expertise and care for the work.
• performingbordersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAWN (Live Art Writers Network) is commissioned by performingborders, Fierce, Take Me Somewhere, and METAL Culture, supported by Arts Council England and Necessity Fund. Fierce hosted writers during the 2024 festival and facilitated daily gatherings at the Festival Hub.
• Take Me Somewhere (Glasgow)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTake Me Somewhere partnered with Fierce on LAWN (Live Art Writers Network), hosting two Scotland-based writers to collaborate with Fierce's festival programme. Also partnered on Public Trust touring.
• B:MusicminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for Free Jazz Fridays performances. Fierce 2024 featured Disco Manifest at Symphony Hall (B:Music venue) presented in partnership with B:Music.
• Birmingham 2022 Festival (Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFierce delivered Key to the City (May 2022) and Healing Gardens of Bab (July 2022) as part of Birmingham 2022 Festival. This was a major collaborative programme of talks, workshops, art, performance and parties exploring colonialism and queerness.
• Now and ThereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNow and There originally commissioned Paul Ramírez Jonas's Public Trust. Fierce subsequently built a relationship with the artist and is now the UK custodian of Public Trust.
• Eastside Projects (Birmingham)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEastside Projects is a partner for Artists Behind Bars, a recurring Fierce event in which artists create and run their own bars for one night. The event takes place at Eastside Projects' venue in Digbeth.
• Flanders arts organisations (Art Happens, VIERNULVIER/KANAL-Centre Pompidou, CAMPO, STUK, BUDA, Workspace Brussels)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFierce has a long relationship with Flemish arts organisations. In 2022 it presented a Flanders Focus with support from the Diplomatic Representation of Flanders, presenting UK debuts of artists from the Flanders region. Co-commissioned The Making of Pinocchio with multiple international partners.
• Horizon Showcase (Battersea Arts Centre, FABRIC, GIFT, MAYK, Transform)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFierce is a founding partner of Horizon Showcase, a residency programme supporting artists to develop work with potential for international touring. Fierce worked closely with POPPERFACE/Gareth Chambers and Takeshi Matsumoto as Horizon Residency Artists in 2023.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights12 records

Broad incumbents

• Southbank Centre: Major London performing arts centre where former Fierce Artistic Director Aaron Wright is now Head of Performance and Dance. Comparable as a destination for the same artist pool and touring works, but at substantially larger scale and broader programming remit.
• Battersea Arts Centre: Major London arts venue presenting experimental performance year-round. Comparable as a Horizon Showcase founding partner and a broader UK presenter of work that overlaps with Fierce's curatorial territory, but operates at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Duckie: London-based performance art collective producing queer post-empire performances, including the Princess Picnic Promenade at Birmingham Botanical Gardens presented with Fierce. Comparable curatorial voice in politically engaged live performance.
• SPILL Festival: Multi-venue international festival of live art and performance based in Ipswich. Directly comparable as a UK experimental live arts festival with a national/international touring component and curated programming model.
• Horizon Showcase: UK touring platform for performance created in England, run by Battersea Arts Centre, FABRIC, GIFT, MAYK, Transform and Fierce. Directly comparable as Fierce is a founding partner and Horizon residency work feeds into Fierce's programming.
• Transform Festival (Leeds): Leeds-based live arts and performance festival operated by Transform. Direct comparable as a UK live arts festival; also a touring partner that hosted Public Trust (engaging ~10,000 people in 4 days), demonstrating the cross-pollination between these festivals.
• Take Me Somewhere: Glasgow-based biennial festival of live performance and contemporary theatre. Closest UK peer: also a curated international live arts festival, also an LAWN co-commissioner with Fierce, and partners on touring works like Public Trust.

Others

• China Plate Theatre: Birmingham-based theatre producing and development company. Comparable as a co-presenting partner on Producer Gathering Midlands Social and as a Birmingham arts ecosystem peer rather than direct festival competitor.
• Live Art Development Agency: London-based sector support organisation for live art in the UK. Comparable as an ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor; Mary Osborn (Fierce Board Member) is LADA's Director, evidencing deep sector interconnection.
• Marlborough Productions: UK-wide producer support network and producer of Producer Gathering. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler (rather than direct competitor) and co-presenter of Fierce's Producer Gathering Midlands Social.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/wearefierce
• Facebookfacebook.com/fiercefestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fierce-festival-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fierce Festival