The Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF) is the longest-running folk festival in the United Kingdom, running annually since 1951.
The festival is organized and hosted by university folk societies, and is held in a different location each year. Former students and folk music enthusiasts gather at the host university for a weekend of music, dance, and song. The festival at Exeter University in 2009 was attended by around 1169 different ticket holders — the most of any IVFDF up to that time, as the previous record was just over 1000 attendees at the IVFDF in Manchester in 1986.
The festival was held online in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted by people based in Bristol. The most recent festival was held in York, in 2026.
History The first festival was held in 1951 under the name "Universities' Folk Dancing Festival", hosted in the city of Leeds. The festival was jointly organized by the Hull University College Folk Dance Society and the Leeds University Scottish Dance Society, however, Leeds was chosen over Hull as the location for the festival due to its accessibility and better facilities at the time. The following two festivals were hosted under this name before the term Inter-Varsity was used for the 1954 festival hosted in Edinburgh.
Initially, the primary activity at the festival was the "Display Ceilidh", during which the university groups in attendance would take turns to perform dances as a demonstration to the other groups. The dances presented could be newly choreographed or traditional and could be chosen to raise awareness of a particular folk style or show the group's skill. In some early festivals, a dance was also held in the evening after the Display Ceilidh, and by the 1959 festival, this had been expanded to two evening dances.
The festival has never been held in the same host city two years consecutively, with 22 different cities hosting thus far. The most frequent hosts have been Sheffield and Exeter, totaling 11 and 8 festivals, respectively.
+Top 10 most frequent IVDF host citiesHost cityNumber of festivals hostedLast festival hostedSheffield112025Exeter82023Edinburgh72019Nottingham62020Manchester51994Cambridge42017Bristol32021Durham32010Glasgow32000Newcastle31990
Mascot Kidnapping
Many of the member societies that attend IVFDF choose to bring their Mascots along for the weekend (typically a stuffed toy). As such they are considered to be a large part of the festival. In the years leading up to the 2001 festival 'Mascot Kidnapping' occurred, with the mascot being ransomed and only returned at the end of the weekend in "good(ish) order". Although intended to be good natured, at the 2001 Cambridge festival this practice had to be officially banned after several people sustained injuries and some mascots were damaged.
List of IVFDF events +All IVDF events. Cities in bold are first-time hosts.YearHost cityHost universityDatesFestival websiteVisitorsEvents/performersNotes1951LeedsLeeds17 February It was known as the Universities' Folk Dancing Festival. The event was jointly organised by the Hull University College Folk Dance Society and the Leeds University Scottish Dance Society.1952Newcastle1953Sheffield1954Edinburgh13 February 480 visitorsFirst festival to use the IVFDF name.1955Birmingham12 February 6001956Manchester1957Bristol16 FebruaryFeatured a Morris Tour1958London1959Nottingham31 January7501960Glasgow13 February1961Leeds11 February1962Manchester17 February1963London2 February1964Sheffield8 February1965Newcastle20 February1966Liverpool19 February1967Exeter25 February1968Hull2 March8001969GlasgowStrathclyde, a sub-university of Glasgow8 February1970Reading13–14 February600Extended to a 2-day festival since a ceilidh was arranged for those who were staying overnight on Friday.1971Nottingham6 February1972Durham12 February1973Liverpool3 February1974Oxford1975London22 February 1976Edinburgh1977Manchester1978Southampton1979NorwichUniversity of East Anglia1980Durham1981Leeds1982Reading1983Nottingham1984Sheffield1985Southampton1986Manchester28 February1987Reading27 February – 1 March2001988Edinburgh1989Exeter1990Newcastle1991Nottingham1992University of East Anglia1993Sheffield1994Manchester1995Exeter1996Edinburgh1997CambridgeAnglia Polytechnic University28 February – 2 March800Held in Anglia Polytechnic University and venues around the city.1998Sheffield1999Exeter2000Glasgow2001Cambridge2002St. Andrews2003Sheffield2004Exeter2005Norwich25–27 February2006CambridgeCambridge University24–26 February1000+Many dance teams, including Stone the Crows, Black Swan Rapper, and Pig Dyke Molly. The usual complement of university-based teams from all over the country.Organised by a committee made up of students and ex-students belonging to the universities' three folk orientated societies (Gog Magog Molly, The Round and The Strathspey, and Reel Society). Because Cambridge does not have a single large students union building, they hired a local school to accommodate the attendees. Workshops were held in various rooms, including the gym and sports hall, sessions were held in the library and common room, and people slept in the maths classrooms. 2007EdinburghEdinburgh University2–4 MarchBands included Peeping Tom and John Dipper. It has demonstration dances, including Scottish and a dance to the soundtrack of The Sound of Music.2008Sheffield29 February – 2 March1000+Bands and artists that appeared were Glory Strokes (Pete Rees), Vertical Expression (Andrew Swaine), The Gloworms (Nick Walden), Janiver (formed from previous Jabadaw members), and Triple Scotch. There was also a concert with Crucible, Spiers & Boden. 2009Exeter27 February-1 MarchFestival website (Archived 12 February 2009)1169 (most of any IVFDF)The lineup included Kate Rusby, The Demon Barbers, and Jackie Oates, who also appeared with Jim Causley. Main ceilidhs were provided by The Committee Band and Stomp with over 40 workshops taking place over the weekend, as well as the Survivor's Ceilidh.All events were back on one site, including sleeping, food and all the late night sessions.2010DurhamDurham university5–7 MarchFestival website (ivfdf.org archive)The lineup included Eliza Carthy and Aidan Curran, Whapweasel and Martyn Harvey, Vertical Expression, Fidola, alongside workshops and a Morris Tour.2011Bristol25–27 FebruaryFestival website Archived 22 July 20112012Aberdeen2–4 March Festival website (Archived 11 October 2020)2013Sheffield1–3 MarchFestival website Archived 14 May 20132014Edinburgh28 February – 2 MarchFestival website (Archived 23 December 2014)2015Exeter 27 February – 1 MarchFestival website (Archived 1 March 2015)Held in the 'new buildings' of the University of Exeter and the Great Hall.2016CoventryUniversity of Warwick 26–28 MarchFestival websiteUsed Coventry Cathedral as a dance venue.2017Cambridge 24–26 FebruaryFestival website (Archived 11 May 2017)2018SheffieldSheffield University23–25 FebruaryFestival websiteThe lineup included Melrose Quintet, Buddy System, Steamchicken, Emily and the Simons, and Scottish Measure.First year the festival went completely gender free for all its calling and workshops. 2019EdinburghEdinburgh University1–3 MarchFestival websiteThe lineup included Hoik, The Night Before, Monkey Box, No&Mi, An Conasg, Hekety, Science Ceilidh, Matthew Maclennan Dance Band, Naragonia, and Point Five.2020Nottingham6–8 MarchFestival websiteThe lineup included Contrasaurus, Bearded Dragons, and several others.2021Bristol (though online)Organised by Bristol people; held online via Minecraft, Zoom, and Discord due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2022Sheffield25–27 FebruaryFestival website6002023Exeter3–5 FebruaryFestival website2024York16–18 FebruaryFestival website2025Sheffield28 February–2 MarchFestival website2026York 27 February - 1 March Festival website
ICBINI I can't believe it's not IVFDF (ICBINI) is a smaller annual spin-off festival held in November. The first ICBINI was held at Exeter in 2002. ICBINI is like the main festival in many respects, in that it is held at a different location each year and hosted by student folk societies; however, if a suitable host cannot be found, a festival is not held that year. The activities are similar to those at IVFDF. +ICBINI eventsYearLocationFestival?Additional2002ExeterFirst ICBINI.2003Bristol 2011Exeter2012Warwick2014WarwickWarwick Festival Announcement2015Lancaster2016ExeterExeter Festival Announcement2017Bristol2018N/ANone2019York2020N/ANoneCancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
References
External links Central IVFDF IVFDF 2012 (Aberdeen) IVFDF 2011 (Bristol) IVFDF 2010 (Durham) IVFDF 2009 (Exeter) IVFDF 2008 (Sheffield) IVFDF 2021 (online)