Creamfields Festival returns to Daresbury, Cheshire, for its 2026 edition, bringing some of the biggest names in electronic dance music together for four days during the August Bank Holiday weekend. The festival runs from Thursday, August 27, through Sunday, August 30, 2026, with Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure Live, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix and many other major artists among the performers.
The 2026 edition is particularly significant because Creamfields is celebrating 20 years at its Daresbury site. Organizers have assembled a lineup spanning house, techno, trance, drum and bass and other electronic styles, with more than 250 artists appearing across the festival’s stages.
When Is Creamfields Festival 2026?
Creamfields 2026 takes place over four days:
- Thursday, August 27, 2026
- Friday, August 28, 2026
- Saturday, August 29, 2026
- Sunday, August 30, 2026
The event is being held at Daresbury Estate in Cheshire, England, continuing the festival’s long-running association with the site.
For international visitors, the location places the festival within reach of both Liverpool and Manchester, making it an important destination on the UK’s summer electronic-music calendar.
Creamfields 2026 Lineup
The Creamfields Festival 2026 lineup is built around a mixture of established global headliners, major electronic acts and emerging performers.
Among the biggest names scheduled to perform are Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure Live, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix, Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Fisher, Becky Hill, Faithless Live, Fatboy Slim, Gorgon City and Sonny Fodera.
The breadth of the lineup means the festival is not restricted to a single sound. Fans can move between commercial dance music, house, techno, trance, drum and bass and other electronic genres throughout the weekend.
Thursday
The opening day features a range of acts across stages including Steel Yard, Cream, RONG and Nation. The official lineup includes performers such as Laidback Luke, Vikkstar, Pretty Pink, Morgan Kasiera, Ferreck Dawn, Alex Mills, Matt Sassari and Richard Durand.
Thursday gives early-arriving festivalgoers the opportunity to experience the Creamfields atmosphere before the headline-heavy Friday-through-Sunday schedule begins.
Friday
Friday, August 28, is led by Disclosure Live, with the lineup also featuring major electronic names including Fisher and Eric Prydz.
Eric Prydz is a particularly notable addition to this year’s schedule. He was announced as the replacement for John Summit, who withdrew from his remaining August European festival appearances. Prydz is scheduled to perform on the Apex stage on Friday.
Saturday
Saturday, August 29, features Calvin Harris as one of the weekend’s major headline attractions. Other prominent performers appearing around the Saturday program include Armin van Buuren and a wide range of house and electronic acts.
Calvin Harris’ appearance is expected to be one of the most anticipated sets of the entire festival, particularly because of his status as one of the world’s best-known electronic dance artists.
Sunday
The festival closes on Sunday, August 30, with Swedish House Mafia among the headline acts.
Sunday’s program also includes Tiësto, Faithless Live, Becky Hill, Sonny Fodera, Fatboy Slim and Gorgon City, giving the final day a particularly broad mix of major dance and electronic performers.
John Summit Withdraws From Creamfields 2026
One of the biggest recent changes to the Creamfields Festival lineup concerns John Summit.
Summit announced that he would cancel his remaining August festival performances as he takes time away from touring to rest and prepare for his upcoming arena schedule. His canceled appearances included Creamfields.
Creamfields subsequently announced Eric Prydz as the replacement for Summit’s Friday appearance. Prydz’s addition gives festivalgoers another major name on an already crowded lineup and marks his return to Creamfields after his previous appearance with the HOLO production in 2022.
The change is one of the most important late updates for anyone planning their Friday schedule.
Creamfields 2026 Set Times
Set times for Creamfields 2026 have already been released. The festival’s official information confirms that the schedules are available through the official Creamfields app, allowing attendees to plan which artists and stages they want to visit.
The release of the timetable gives fans an opportunity to identify clashes between major performances before arriving at Daresbury.
That is particularly important at a festival of Creamfields’ size. With performances taking place simultaneously across numerous stages, attendees will inevitably have to choose between artists performing at overlapping times.
What Makes Creamfields 2026 Significant?
The 2026 edition is more than another entry in the festival’s annual calendar. It marks 20 years of Creamfields at Daresbury, giving the event a major anniversary theme.
Creamfields has developed into one of the UK’s major electronic music festivals, attracting large crowds and internationally recognized DJs and producers.
The anniversary edition therefore combines the festival’s established identity with an unusually strong collection of headline performers.
The combination of Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix, Tiësto and other major names gives different sections of the electronic-music audience a reason to attend.
Creamfields Festival Stages
One of the defining features of Creamfields is its large number of stages and specialist areas.
The official 2026 lineup includes stages and areas such as Arc, Apex, Steel Yard, Cream, RONG and Nation, among others.
Each area provides a different atmosphere and musical focus, allowing visitors to move from large-scale headline performances to more specialized electronic sets.
For fans attending for the first time, planning is particularly important. The festival site is large, and moving between stages can take time. Checking the official timetable before the event can help visitors decide which performances are essential and which can be skipped if clashes occur.
What Fans Can Expect From the Festival
Creamfields is designed around the electronic festival experience rather than a traditional concert format.
Large stages, visual productions, multiple simultaneous performances and late-night programming create an environment where attendees can build their own schedule.
For 2026, the anniversary aspect adds another layer to the event. The combination of established festival brands, international headliners and specialist electronic stages should make the weekend particularly significant for dance-music fans.
The lineup also means that different generations of electronic-music fans are represented. Long-established performers such as Carl Cox and Fatboy Slim appear alongside newer and contemporary acts.
Creamfields 2026 for U.S. Fans
For American electronic-music fans, Creamfields represents an opportunity to see several international artists in a single UK festival setting.
The event’s lineup includes artists who regularly perform at major festivals and venues in the United States, while others have particularly strong followings within the European dance-music scene.
Travelers coming from the U.S. should pay close attention to the official festival information, transportation arrangements, ticket conditions and entry requirements before traveling to the UK.
Because Creamfields runs for four days, visitors should also consider whether they want to attend the entire event or focus on particular days.
Latest Creamfields Festival Update
The biggest last-minute lineup development ahead of the 2026 festival is the replacement of John Summit by Eric Prydz on Friday. Prydz’s addition keeps another globally recognized electronic artist on the bill following Summit’s withdrawal.
At the same time, the core headline lineup remains intact, with Disclosure Live on Friday, Calvin Harris on Saturday and Swedish House Mafia on Sunday among the weekend’s major attractions.
With the festival beginning on August 27, 2026, the latest official information should be checked through Creamfields’ own channels for any additional timetable, artist or operational changes.
Final Thoughts
Creamfields Festival 2026 is shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest electronic-music events in the UK. Its four-day return to Daresbury combines a 20th anniversary celebration at the site with a lineup featuring some of the biggest names in dance music.
Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure Live, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix and other major artists headline a packed program, while the addition of Eric Prydz following John Summit’s withdrawal provides one of the festival’s most notable last-minute changes.
For anyone planning to attend, the official timetable is already available through the Creamfields app, making it possible to organize a personal schedule before arriving at the festival.
Want more Creamfields Festival updates? Stay tuned for the latest confirmed lineup, schedule and festival news.