Reflecting on Emerge East 2025

Reflecting on Emerge East 2025

This year’s Emerge East festival once again brought Barking Riverside to life, welcoming over 4,000 people for a day that celebrated creativity, community and nature. Families, friends and visitors filled the neighbourhood to enjoy an exciting line-up of music, art, food and wellbeing activities – all showcasing what makes Barking Riverside such a great place to live in.

What Attendees Told Us

Emerge East aims to be the main yearly appointment in Barking Riverside’s calendar of events. As the neighbourhood grows, so does its ambition to provide entertainment at its doorstep and attract Londoners from further afield to discover this new and emerging East London district.

Feedback from this year’s event has been overwhelmingly positive. Of the 133 people who completed the post-event survey, 60% were Barking Riverside residents, while 40% were visiting the area for the first time, showing how Emerge East continues to attract both local and new audiences from across London.

The data also highlights how strongly the event resonated with attendees:

• 89% agreed that Emerge East is good for the profile of Barking Riverside
• 86% said they would attend again
• 86% agreed the festival left them feeling more positive about Barking Riverside as a place
• The majority spent over four hours at the event, reflecting how much there was to see and experience throughout the day

Many shared how much they valued the sense of connection – neighbours meeting for the first time, families enjoying activities together and visitors discovering the area’s growing cultural offer.

What was on offer at Emerge East in 2025

Across the day, Barking Riverside was alive with activity, mostly local businesses, vendors and performances came together to make Emerge East a successful day, with festival curation done in partnership with festival agency Hemingway Design.

The new Barking Riverside Block Party, curated by local collective One Room Live, became the centrepiece of the festival, with local performers and DJs keeping crowds dancing well into the evening. The night ended on a high as Capital Xtra host and DJ Shayna Marie closed her set by stepping off stage to dance the Candy with the audience, creating a memorable finale.

Elsewhere, people explored large-scale art installations and creative workshops, including Meliora by Atelier Sisu in partnership with Creative Barking and Dagenham, the Printing Studio with Lucy Grainge, and Window to the Block with Woodland Tribe. Visitors also took part in The Poetry Takeaway, Nail Art with The Illustrated Nail, and hands-on sessions led by Wander Wild Forest School, including their outdoor pizza and forest tool workshops.

Wellbeing and nature were also central to the day, with activities such as the Riverside Sauna, Mini Massage, Wildlife and Wellbeing Trail, Planting for Pollinators, and guided Nature Walks.

Food and markets played a big role, with A Taste of Barking Riverside featuring The Home Cooks, who sold out in record time, alongside the Emerging Makers’ Market and Charity Super.Mkt. Visitors could also explore the Soundscape Tent, SandScape, and Made Better Workshops, while families danced together at Big Fish Little Fish, the original family rave.

Now in its fourth year, Emerge East has become a highlight in Barking Riverside’s cultural calendar. The event continues to grow in scale and ambition, helping to strengthen the area’s identity and foster a strong sense of place.

Through partnerships with local creatives, community groups and businesses, Emerge East demonstrates how culture can connect people and celebrate the best of what Barking Riverside has to offer – a thriving and inclusive neighbourhood that continues to evolve.