Stockton International Riverside Festival has been running for twenty two years and is the best established street theatre festival in Britain. The festival was initiated by Frank Wilson (who now runs his own company, Event International) and over the years has built a worldwide reputation for the quality of its programming. Taking place in and around the centre of Stockton-on-Tees in the North East of England, the festival has helped define street arts in the United Kingdom, and has given an opportunity to many companies from around the world to showcase their work. SIRF takes place annually in the first week of August and attracts audiences of up to 150,000 people.