Covent Garden Street Performers
Covent Garden in London features famous street performers whose history on the piazza dates back to England's first recorded Punch and Judy puppet show in 1662. Following the closure of the fruit and vegetable market in 1974, entertainers officially took over the space in 1975. Today, acts must pass quarterly auditions to secure daily performance slots, having launched the careers of stars like Eddie Izzard and Dynamo.
London Β· from the walk βLondon's Big Kid Adventureβ Β· Generated
Covent Garden Piazza, London WC2E 8BE
- Samuel Pepys recorded the first English Punch and Judy show at London's Covent Garden in 1662.
- The Punch and Judy pub in Covent Garden was built in 1787 for local flower sellers' children.
- Street performers took over Covent Garden in 1975, one year after the fruit market closed in 1974.
- Auditions are held four times a year to grant official permits for Covent Garden street performers.
Which famous entertainers began their careers performing at Covent Garden in London?
Okay, take a look around you. See those cobblestones? See that crowd gathering in a circle over there? Welcome to one of the Coolest outdoor stages in the entire world... and there isn't even a stage!......... The very first record of street entertainment right here in Covent Garden goes all the way back to sixteen sixty-two, when a man named Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary that he watched a marionette show featuring a puppet character named Punch... right on this piazza. That's right... the Very First Punch and Judy show ever recorded in England happened right where you're standing! That was over three hundred and sixty years ago!......... There's even a pub nearby called the Punch and Judy, built in seventeen eighty-seven and named after those puppet shows that used to entertain the flower sellers' children.......... Now here's something wild. In nineteen seventy-five, a year after Covent Garden's famous fruit and vegetable market wheeled out its last barrows of violets and carrots, a totally different kind of professional showed up... showbiz people! Acrobats, jugglers, mimes, and musicians rolled in and basically Took Over the empty piazza. And they've been here ever since.......... But can you just walk up and start performing here? Nope! Performers go through a strict audition process before they're granted a permit, and only those judged to meet a really high standard get permission to perform. Those auditions are held four times a year. So every person you see performing here has Earned their spot.......... Each morning, there's a draw where time slots are allocated to each performer, and a paper schedule gets taped to the wall of the West Piazza. It's like a secret lottery that happens before most of us have even had breakfast!......... And guess who got their start performing right on These cobblestones? Famous comedian Eddie Izzard, the street magician Dynamo, and the incredible percussion group Stomp all trod these very cobbles. There's even a sword swallower called Mighty Gareth who wowed crowds here in the nineteen nineties, and now his Son performs here too... as a chainsaw juggler!......... So keep your eyes wide open. The person performing here today... might just be the next big star.
Nearby stories
- Covent Garden Market Building β 30 m
- London Transport Museum β 50 m
- St Paul's Church, Covent Garden β 110 m
- Rules Restaurant β 120 m
- The Adelphi Theatre Stage Door β 180 m
- Theatre Royal Drury Lane β 180 m