Goalhanger and the Southbank Centre announce The Rest Is Fest programme

The Southbank Centre in collaboration with Goalhanger today unveils the programme for Goalhanger: The Rest Is Fest – a major new festival bringing together some of the world’s most popular voices to explore the stories shaping our world – from history and politics to science, sport, and culture.

Taking place across the Southbank Centre’s iconic site, this landmark collaboration between Europe’s largest arts centre and one of the world’s largest independent podcast producers is a highlight of the centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations in 2026.

In 1951 the Festival of Britain was created to celebrate the best of British innovation and propel the nation forward toward an optimistic future – The Rest Is Fest promises to take the spirit of the festival and look to the future with a live programme brimming with ideas, curiosity, and conversation.

Taking place in the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and smaller spaces across the site, the programme boasts a range of intimate and large scale live shows, featuring established names and renowned experts.

Highlights include:

• Exploring the future – and what it holds – was a central idea of the Festival of Britain and is a key theme that runs through the whole weekend, as Goalhanger’s biggest shows tackle the forces shaping tomorrow: democracy and global politics, money, media, science, history, entertainment, and even football
• Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards will take to the Royal Festival Hall stage to present the first ever live version of The Rest Is Football (4 Sep)
• The Rest Is Money hosted by Robert Peston and Steph McGovern will also be live on stage for the first time, featuring a big name guest, yet to be announced (4 Sep)
• The biggest history podcast in the world – The Rest Is History – takes centre stage at the Southbank Centre for a live show exploring the most fascinating historical stories of all time (5 Sep)
• The nation’s most popular political podcast The Rest Is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart will be live on stage, discussing how AI-powered disinformation and populism infect our newsfeeds and public sphere (6 Sep)
• Unique collaborations, special one-offs and a few surprises will complete the lineup – yet to be announced

Find out more about Goalhanger: The Rest Is Fest