Fiesta: A Journey Through Festivity with Daniel Stables
Location:
Royal Hospital Chelsea (State Apartments)
Date & time:
Thursday 1 Oct 2026, 2.00pm
Price:
£15.00 (plus £2 booking fee per transaction)
Join the fascinating talk with travel writer Daniel Stables as he talks about global festivity through the journeys captured in his acclaimed book Fiesta.
About the event
Fiesta is a travel book which explores human festivity through a series of travel narratives set at some of the world’s most remarkable festivals. This talk, like the book, takes the audience on a journey through festivity, with a series of travel narratives exploring what festivals teach us about human culture and behaviour in societies across the globe.
The talk explores the vibrant tapestry of human festivity, delving into the extraordinary lengths to which we go to express our cultures and commemorate life’s milestones. From the masked soirées of Venice Carnival to the whirling dervishes of Konya, from animist funerals in Sulawesi to the depraved pilgrimage that is the Romería de El Rocío, festivals are the birds-of-paradise of human cultural expression: luminescent, effervescent, eye-catching and strange.
Beyond being outwardly captivating, though, something deeper is going on at festivals. They lift us out of daily life and onto a level, liminal plain, erasing the normal hierarchies of life and turning its structures upside down and in their carnivalesque chaos, festivals reveal something raw and unaffected in us, taking us out of our own heads and away from our egoistic concerns and allowing us to connect to something greater than ourselves, be that our culture, community, or something divine. The talk showcases how festivals not only display human culture at its most vivid and varied, but also reveal the motivations and similarities which we all share in human cultures across the world.
Festival planning
Getting between Chelsea History Festival venues: This event takes place at the National Army Museum. Many Chelsea History Festival venues are within walking distance of one another, but journey times vary. If you are booking events close together, please allow enough time to travel comfortably between venues.
Estimated walking times from this venue: 3 minutes to Royal Hospital Chelsea, 4 minutes to Garrison Chapel, 5 minutes to Chelsea Physic Garden, 10 minutes to Royal Court Theatre, 12 minutes to Cadogan Hall, 14 minutes to Chelsea Old Church and 23 minutes to Chelsea Theatre.
Additional information
Enter via London Gate
This event is eligible for our 20% ticket bundle discount.
Book tickets to three or more different events across the festival and you can save 20%. Tickets must be purchased in the same transaction and the discount will automatically be applied within the basket.
About the speaker
Daniel Stables has been working as a travel writer for the last decade, first writing guidebooks for Rough Guides, and later writing articles for National Geographic, the BBC, and national newspapers. He has won acclaim and recognition for his work, having received several nominations for Travel Writer of the Year. More of his work can be found at his website, danielstables.co.uk. His debut non-fiction book, Fiesta: A Journey Through Festivity, was published by Icon Books in August 2025 (paperback published in July 2026).
FAQs
Is the Royal Hospital Chelsea accessible?Yes, the Royal Hospital Chelsea is fully accessible. If you need further access information or help please do get in touch tours@chelsea-pensioners.org.uk or call 0207 881 5200.
Bikes (including folding bikes) and scooters are not permitted. There are bike racks located along Royal Hospital Road. These can be used to secure any bikes and scooters.
Please do not secure any bikes or scooters to the railings outside the Royal Hospital Chelsea or Burton Court. Any items secure to these railings will be removed.
Online booking is available 24/7 on this website.
You can book by phone on 0131 226 0014 from Monday – Friday 10 – 6pm from 10 July but will need to make payment at the time. We cannot reserve tickets.
You can book in person at the National Army Museum from Wednesday 25 – Sunday 29th if there is still availability at that time, which we cannot guarantee.
Please see the full terms & conditions on the booking platform when you book tickets.
The booking fee is £2.00 and this applies online, on the telephone and in person.
All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable, with the exception of cancelled events which we will refund within 28 days. The organising venue reserves the right to change event speakers and content may be subject to change. Refunds will not be issued if the event is still taking place.
There are no concessions for Chelsea History Festival tickets, which have been priced as reasonably as possible. People requiring a carer, support worker or personal assistant will get a complimentary carer ticket. To book this please contact our box office on 0131 226 0014.
Proof of concession is required for these tickets so please be prepared to show relevant ID.
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