Europe's largest street art event needs your help

It's been 10 years since Upfest - The Urban Paint Festival was set up by co-founder Stephen Hayles and a small team of like-minded people with a passion for street art. Since then, Upfest has grown to become the largest free event of its kind in Europe, but it needs your help to make the tenth anniversary edition a stand-out event.

Located in south Bristol, a city famous in graffiti circles for its Banksy murals, Upfest 2018 is planned for 28-30 July and is expected to host 400 artists from across the globe, as well as an estimated 50,000 visitors. The event is an inclusive space for artists to come together, paint, and show off their talents with a spray can.

But with running costs ticking over into hundreds of thousands of pounds, the Upfest organisers are once again turning to crowd funding to help cover costs. With a target of £20,000 to help cover materials, management fees and marketing, the Upfest Fundsurfer pledge only has four days left to reach its goal. 

If you're able to dig deep and pledge as little as a fiver towards this amazing event, you'll be thanked for your generosity with a plethora of rewards ranging from a simple smile to a chair shaped like a tin of beans. Everyone who pledges will also be entered into a free prize draw, where you could win a festival weekend stay at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel.

There's just four days to go on this campaign so you'll have to be quick if you want to back this project. Having already raised more than three quarters of the money needed, the end is in sight for Upfest, so our fingers are crossed it'll find the rest of the support it needs soon. We hope to see you there!

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