The smell reaches you before the music does. Somewhere between the Turbine Halls and Malaysia Square there is charcoal smoke, pandan, lemongrass and the sweet burnt-sugar edge of something frying. A kompang drumming group is warming up near the river. A queue is forming for curry puffs. Two children in borrowed sarongs are running a passport around a trail of eleven countries, hunting for a sticker.
This is a Grade II* listed building that once produced a fifth of London’s electricity, and for one weekend in September it turns into the closest thing this city has to a street in Penang, Manila or Hanoi. CelebrASIA 2026 runs from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September, and entry costs nothing.
Last year it drew 176,000 people across three days. This year is bigger again, with more than 35 food traders, a new panel programme, a week of films and comedy sets from three countries. Here is what is on, what costs money, what does not, and how to reach Battersea without losing an hour of your day to the wrong bus.
| At A Glance | Details |
| What | London festival of South East Asian food, music, craft, and film. |
| Who For | Families, food lovers, and film fans. |
| Dates | 11–13 Sep 2026; films from 8 Sep. |
| Where | Battersea Power Station, London. |
| Cost | Free entry; selected activities ticketed. |
| Travel Tip | Pre-book a transfer for convenient event drop-off. |
What Exactly Is CelebrASIA, and Why Has It Grown So Fast?
Image Source: batterseapowerstation.co.uk
It started as a one-off in 2024 and is now one of the busiest Battersea Power Station events of the year. The reason is partly geography and partly ownership.
A Three-Day Festival for Eleven Countries
The festival covers the ASEAN nations, which means Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and now Timor-Leste. Food, music, dance, craft, film and talks all sit under one roof, or rather across one riverside neighbourhood. The organisers work directly with the High Commissioners and Ambassadors of all eleven missions in London, which is a large part of why this is the biggest South East Asian festival London hosts all year.
From a Debut Year to 176,000 Visitors
The 2025 edition broke every attendance record the site had, pulling 176,000 guests across the weekend. That is why the 2026 programme is wider rather than just longer: an expanded street food area, a bigger Artisan Market, a new performance space in Malaysia Square and a ticketed talks strand that did not exist before.
Fun fact: Battersea Power Station has been Malaysian-owned since 2012, which is exactly why a South East Asian festival ended up here rather than anywhere else in London. There is a square on site literally called Malaysia Square.
When Is CelebrASIA 2026 and What Are the Opening Times?
The three main days of CelebrASIA 2026 are the weekend itself, but the cinema programme quietly starts on the Tuesday before, which is worth knowing if you want the film side without the crowds.
Dates, Days and Daily Hours
Street food and bars keep longer hours than the shops, and Sunday finishes earliest. Plan the day around this table rather than around general Battersea opening times.
| Day | Street Food & Bars | Shops & Restaurants | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 11 September | 11am to 10pm | 10am to 8pm | Evening crowd, comedy, first drinks |
| Saturday 12 September | 10am to 10pm | 10am to 8pm | The full programme, busiest day |
| Sunday 13 September | 10am to 7pm | 12pm to 6pm | Panels, families, calmer pace |
| Tue 8 to Thu 10 September | Not running | Normal hours | Film festival screenings only |
Which Day Should You Actually Pick?
Saturday has everything running at once and is the loudest. Sunday is the day for the talks and the easiest one with a pushchair, though the site shuts earlier. Friday evening is the sleeper pick: the comedy and DJ sets start, the food queues are shorter, and you can eat properly without waiting twenty minutes for a bowl of laksa.
Do You Need a Ticket to Get In?
No, and this is the part people get wrong. General admission is free and there is no wristband, no queue for entry and no booking required.
What Is Free and Walk-In?
The Main Stage performances, all the street food and bars, the Artisan Market in the Turbine Halls, the Grand Tour passport trail, free face painting, the kids’ colouring corner and the games in Malaysia Square all cost nothing beyond whatever you spend on lunch. That covers most of the CelebrASIA line-up.
What You Need to Book?
The hands-on parts are ticketed and sold through the individual organisers rather than one central box office. CelebrASIA tickets for workshops and panels are worth booking ahead, because several sold out last year and walk-in spaces depend entirely on availability.
| Experience | When | Price | Booked Through |
|---|---|---|---|
| CelebrASIA Panels (four talks) | Sunday 13 September | £15 plus fees | Eventbrite |
| Batik Art Painting Workshop | Sat 12 & Sun 13 September | £28 | Batik Ying |
| Bamboo Fan Weaving Workshop | Saturday 12 September, 3.30pm | £45 | Yi Crafts |
| Gin Malaya Masterclass | Fri 11 (7pm) & Sat 12 (4.30pm) | Ticketed, 18+ | DesignMyNight |
| Film Festival screenings | Tue 8 to Sun 13 September | Ticketed | The Cinema in the Power Station |
| Kids craft workshops | Sat 12 & Sun 13 September | Ticketed | Glue Gang |
What Food Is There, and What Should You Actually Order?
Image Source: secretldn.com
More than 35 traders are confirmed for CelebrASIA 2026, the biggest food line-up the festival has run. A few names are worth walking straight to before the queues build.
1. Mambow
Abby Lee’s modern Malaysian kitchen is back after a strong 2025, this time serving a Hainanese chicken sando. She is also on the Feast & Flavour panel on the Sunday, so if you like what you eat you can go and hear her talk about it an hour later.
2. Ro Vietnamese, Syiok Lah and Bija Coffee
The three headline newcomers for 2026. Ro brings Vietnamese, Syiok Lah brings Malaysian street food, and Bija is an Indonesian coffee specialist, which matters more than it sounds when you are three hours into a festival and the queue at the regular cafes is out of the door.
3. Old Chang Kee and Singapulah
Old Chang Kee is the Singaporean curry puff institution, and Ellen Chew’s Singapulah covers the wider hawker end. Between them you get the two things people miss most about Singapore food courts.
4. Turo Turo and FiliGrillz
Filipino food is having a moment in London and both of these do it properly. Grilled skewers, rice plates, and the kind of vinegar-forward flavour that a lot of first-timers do not expect.
5. Farang, Eat Lah and Mandy Yin x Chick’n’Sours
Farang covers Thai, Eat Lah covers Malaysian, and the Mandy Yin collaboration with Chick’n’Sours is the one to try if you want something you cannot order anywhere else the rest of the year. The full trader list is updated as more are confirmed.
Fun fact: Bring cash as a backup. Card readers at outdoor stalls have a habit of failing when 60,000 phones are all fighting for the same mast on a Saturday afternoon.
What Is Happening on the Main Stage?
The stage runs Friday evening, all day Saturday and all day Sunday, with a second performance space in Malaysia Square added this year.
Comedy, Music and Dance Across Three Days
Three comedians make their CelebrASIA debut: Vera Chok from Malaysia, Ria Lina from the Philippines and Sam See from Singapore. On the music side there is kompang Malaysian drumming, the British Filipino Haraya Choir, and DJ sets from Pinoy Grooves, Family of East and Half East Records.
Dance is the part that usually stops people mid-walk. Sarawak dancers from Malaysia, Lila Bhawa from Indonesia and Lahing Kayumanggi from the Philippines all perform, alongside national dress parades and walkabout performers moving through the site. Nothing on the Main Stage needs a ticket.
What Can You Make at the Workshops?
The Artisan Market takes over the Turbine Halls, and the workshops run alongside it on Level One of Turbine Hall A. Most last an hour and you leave holding something you made.
Craft Masterclasses for Adults
The batik painting workshop with Ying gives you a hand-painted 20cm batik piece in an hour for £28, with no experience needed and materials included. Yi Crafts runs bamboo fan weaving and moon boat basket weaving, at £45 for 90 minutes. There is also Sarawak beaded bracelet making, Bemban mat weaving, a Baybayin script class on the forgotten Filipino alphabet, and pewter bowl casting with Royal Selangor.
Sessions for Kids
The Glue Gang runs six family workshops across Saturday and Sunday, covering hibiscus sand art, an underwater world build, wall art weaving, tiger slime, lotus designing and fan painting. Batik painting takes children from age eight upwards as long as an adult holds a ticket too.
Food and Drink Classes
Ranie Saidi runs an everyday Malaysian cooking class at Borough Kitchen from Thursday to Saturday. The Gin Malaya masterclass covers a Malaysian gin, its botanicals and the founder’s story across an hour, with a welcome drink and a goodie bag. It is strictly 18 plus and operates a Challenge 25 policy.
What Are the Panels and the Film Festival?
Image Source: timeandleisure.co.uk
These two strands are new or expanded for 2026, and they are the reason the festival now stretches across most of a week rather than a weekend.
The CelebrASIA Talks
Journalist and academic Anna Sulan Masing curates four panels, all on Sunday 13 September at the Arches Lane Theatre. They cover storytelling, food, artisan heritage and fashion. Tickets are £15 plus booking fees and the sessions are 16 plus. The food panel alone brings together Abby Lee of Mambow, John Chantarasak of the Michelin-starred AngloThai, Budgie Montoya of Sarap and Apoy, and Abbey Wong of Voice ESEA.
Five Films Across Six Days
The film programme runs from Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 September across The Cinema in the Arches and The Cinema in the Power Station. The line-up covers Aroi Mark, You Mean The World To Me, Ola Bola, Babah and Na Willa, taking in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Everything screens in the original language with English subtitles, and booking ahead is strongly recommended.
Fun fact: Ola Bola is a genuine phenomenon in Malaysia. The 1980-set football drama took more than RM12 million at the box office and is one of the highest-grossing local films the country has produced.
Is There Enough to Keep Children Busy?
More than most free festivals in London manage, and a lot of it is designed to be done at a child’s pace rather than dragged through.
The Grand Tour Passport Trail
Young explorers collect a CelebrASIA passport and work their way around a trail covering all eleven South East Asian countries, picking up facts as they go and claiming a sticker and stamp at the end. Timor-Leste appears on the trail for the first time this year, after joining ASEAN as its eleventh member in October 2025.
Free Activities Dotted Around the Site
Face painting and the colouring corner run free on Saturday and Sunday, alongside games and performances in Malaysia Square. The traditional South East Asian massage zone returns for the adults, and so does the AI photo booth, which produced most of the festival’s social media output last year.
Making a Full Day of It
If the festival winds down before the children do, the Chimney Lift takes you 109 metres up the north-west chimney for a 360-degree view, with tickets from around £17 for adults and £12.60 for children. Battersea Park is a ten-minute walk away, and the riverside path is one of the better stops on a private London tour if you are making a day of the area.
How Do You Get to Battersea Power Station?
There is a tube station named after the building, which makes CelebrASIA at Battersea Power Station easier to reach than most London festivals. The catch is that the site is large and some approaches involve a fifteen-minute walk once you arrive.
| Option | Detail | Walk To Site | Notes |
| Tube | Battersea Power Station, Northern Line. | 10–15 min | Simplest option. |
| Train | Battersea Park or Queenstown Road. | 10–15 min | Good from the south. |
| Bus | Multiple routes to Pump House Lane / Battersea Park. | 5–10 min | Cheapest option. |
| River Bus | Uber Boat to Battersea Power Station Pier. | 2 min | Fast from Embankment. |
| Car | Parking via Pump House Lane or Circus Road West. | On site | Busy on event weekends. |
| Private Transfer | Direct drop-off at Pump House Lane. | Direct | Best for families and groups. |
1. The Tube Is the Obvious Route
The Northern line extension gave the building its own Zone 1 station in 2021, and it is a short ride from Waterloo, Charing Cross and Tottenham Court Road. Sloane Square is a twelve-minute walk over Chelsea Bridge if the Northern line is having one of its days, and Vauxhall is a five-minute bus ride away on the 156, 344 or 436.
2. Trains, Buses and the River
Queenstown Road connects to London Waterloo on South Western Railway, and Battersea Park connects to Victoria on Southern. The river bus is the most enjoyable arrival by a distance and takes contactless payment like any bus, reaching Embankment in about 15 minutes and Canary Wharf in 40.
3. Driving and Parking Costs
The on-site car parks hold more than 200 vehicles and charge £6 for under two hours, £10 for two to four hours, £16 for four to six and £30 for anything up to 24. There are 39 EV bays at £0.45 per kWh and 45 Blue Badge spaces, which are not bookable. Battersea itself warns that the car parks are likely to fill on busy weekends, and a festival pulling six figures of visitors qualifies.
4. Private Transfers and Group Travel
Taxis and private hire are directed to Pump House Lane, where security points you to the right drop-off. For a group, a 9 seater minibus usually costs less per head than five separate fares and removes the walk entirely. If you are coming from across the river, our Chelsea taxi service and Victoria pickupscover the short hops, and South London riders can be picked up door to door. Booking the return at the same time is the difference between a calm Sunday evening and a long wait, which is the same lesson the Notting Hill Carnival travel guide made obvious last month.
What Should You Know Before You Go?
Image Source: londonistlistings.substack.com
A few practical things about CelebrASIA 2026 that are not obvious from the programme, and which make a noticeable difference on the day.
1. Allow Longer Than You Think to Walk In
The organisers themselves warn that the site is big and to allow 10 to 15 minutes from Battersea Power Station tube, and longer from Battersea Park or Queenstown Road. If you have booked a workshop with a fixed start time, late arrivals are admitted at the organiser’s discretion, so build in a buffer.
2. Book the Workshops Before You Book the Day
The craft classes hold small numbers and several sold out in 2025. The panels are the same. Everything else can be decided on the day, so lock in the ticketed sessions first and let the free programme fill the gaps around them.
3. Travel Light
There is no cloakroom at the festival and some venues, including the Chimney Lift, refuse anything larger than an A4 bag. If you are arriving from an airport or a hotel with luggage, our luggage guide explains what fits in which vehicle, and leaving bags in the car is far simpler than carrying them around Turbine Hall A.
4. Dogs Are Welcome, Mostly
Battersea Power Station is dog-friendly across the neighbourhood, including most shops and selected restaurants. Individual food stalls and ticketed workshop venues set their own policies for the festival, so check before you commit to bringing one into a craft session.
5. Sunday Ends Earlier Than You Expect
Street food stops at 7pm on Sunday and the shops close at 6pm, which catches out anyone treating it like a Saturday. Families with a child seat booking and an early bedtime will find Sunday afternoon the easiest window of the whole weekend.
Travelling In From Outside London for the Weekend?
Battersea sits in Zone 1 but on the south bank, which means the airport run to CelebrASIA at Battersea Power Station takes longer than the map suggests once you factor in the river crossings.
Heathrow takes around an hour by road, and our cheapest routes from Heathrow guide compares the public transport options if you would rather do it yourself. Gatwick connects to Victoria by express train, which puts you a short bus ride from the site, while Luton and Stansted sit north of the city and need a full crossing. Eurostar arrivals can go direct from St Pancras without changing twice on the Underground with bags.
If you are building a longer weekend around it, September is a heavy month in London. Meatopia runs at Tobacco Dock in early September, the BBC Proms season carries on at the Royal Albert Hall, and the Formula E weekend at ExCeL sits in the same stretch of the calendar. Two of those are ticketed. This one is not.
Is CelebrASIA 2026 Worth Your Weekend?
For a free South East Asian festival London puts on with no admission charge, the answer is obvious. You can turn up with nothing booked, eat food from six countries in an afternoon, watch a Sarawak dance troupe and a Filipino choir back to back, and leave without spending more than you would on a normal lunch.
The version worth planning is the other one. Book a panel, book a craft class, catch a film midweek when the cinema is quiet, then let the Saturday run itself. That is how CelebrASIA 2026 rewards a bit of forward thinking, and it is why 176,000 people turned up last year without a single admission ticket being sold.
Heading to Battersea for the Weekend and Want the Travel Sorted?
My London Transfer runs private, event transfer rides to Battersea Power Station with fixed prices and drivers who know the Pump House Lane entrance.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. When Is CelebrASIA 2026?
The main festival runs Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September 2026. The film programme starts earlier, on Tuesday 8 September, and continues through to the Sunday.
2. Where Does It Take Place?
Battersea Power Station, Circus Road West, London SW11 8BJ. Events are spread across the Turbine Halls, Malaysia Square, Circus West Village, the Arches Lane Theatre and both on-site cinemas.
3. Is It Free to Attend?
Yes. General admission costs nothing and needs no booking. The Main Stage, street food area, Artisan Market, Grand Tour trail, face painting and Malaysia Square activities are all walk-in.
4. What Is Ticketed?
Craft masterclasses, kids’ workshops, the Gin Malaya masterclass, the Malaysian cooking class, the four Sunday panels at £15, and the film screenings. Each is booked through its own organiser rather than one central site.
5. What Are the Opening Hours?
Street food and bars run 11am to 10pm on Friday, 10am to 10pm on Saturday and 10am to 7pm on Sunday. The shops and restaurants keep 10am to 8pm hours Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 6pm on Sunday.
6. How Many Food Traders Are There?
More than 35 confirmed, the largest food line-up the festival has run. New for 2026 are Ro Vietnamese, Syiok Lah and Bija Coffee, alongside returning names including Mambow, Singapulah, Turo Turo, Farang, Eat Lah, Old Chang Kee and FiliGrillz.
7. Is It Suitable for Children?
Yes. There are six dedicated kids’ craft workshops, free face painting, a colouring corner and the Grand Tour passport trail. The panels are 16 plus and the gin masterclass is 18 plus.
8. Which Countries Are Represented?
All eleven ASEAN nations: Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, which appears on the Grand Tour trail for the first time this year.
9. How Do You Get There by Public Transport?
Battersea Power Station station on the Northern line is the closest. Battersea Park and Queenstown Road are both around a 10 to 15 minute walk, buses 156, 211, 344 and 436 stop at Pump House Lane, and Uber Boat by Thames Clippers serves the on-site pier.
10. Is There Parking, and What Does It Cost?
Yes, more than 200 spaces across two car parks with a 2.2 metre height limit. Charges run from £6 for under two hours to £30 for up to 24 hours. The car parks regularly fill on event weekends, so public transport or a drop-off is the safer plan.
11. Can You Bring a Dog?
Battersea Power Station is dog-friendly throughout, including most shops and some restaurants. Individual festival stalls and ticketed workshop venues may apply their own rules, so check before arriving with one.
12. How Busy Does It Get?
The 2025 edition drew 176,000 visitors across the three days and 2026 is expected to be larger. Saturday is the peak, Friday evening and Sunday afternoon are noticeably calmer.
