Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in England

London
London's streets come alive during several annual parades.
  • Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival's website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, see the sites for Visit England and Visit Britain.
  • This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout England. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn't a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
  • See upcoming holidays and festivals in Scotland, Wales, and across Europe

2024

January 1:  New Year's Day (closures)

Through January:  Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)

February 12–18:  Jorvik Viking Festival, York (costumed warriors, battles)

February 16–20:  London Fashion Week

March 29–April 1:  Easter Weekend (Good Friday through Easter Monday; closures)

March 30:  Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race, southwest London

May 4–6:  Chimney Sweeps Festival, Rochester (Morris dancers, northwest of Canterbury)

May 6:  Early May Bank Holiday (closures)

May 17–26:  Bath Festival (music and literature)

May 21–25:  Chelsea Flower Show, London

May 24–June 9:  Bath Fringe Festival (alternative music, dance, and theater)

May 25:  Live at Leeds in the Park (music festival)

May 27:  Spring Bank Holiday (closures); also Cooper's Hill Cheese Roll, Gloucester, Cotswolds

June 7–8:  Keswick Beer Festival (music, shows)

June 8:  Trooping the Colour, London (King's birthday parade, with military bands and pageantry)

June 18–22:  Royal Ascot horse races, near Windsor

June 21–30:  Golowan Festival, Penzance (midsummer celebration)

June 26–30:  Glastonbury Festival, Somerset (indie pop/rock music)

June 29:  London Pride Parade

July 1–14:  Wimbledon Tennis Championship, London

July 5–7:  Love Supreme, Sussex (jazz festival)

July 6–13:  Early Music Festival, York

Mid-July–mid-September:  The Proms, London (series of classical-music performances in Royal Albert Hall)

July 25–28:  WOMAD Festival, Malmesbury (between Bath and Oxford; world music)

July 25–28:  Cambridge Folk Festival

July 26–28:  Tramlines Festival, Sheffield (indie rock and more)

August 2–5:  Pride Festival, Brighton

August 10–18 (likely):  Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival, Yorkshire

August 25–26:  Notting Hill Carnival, London (costumes, Caribbean music)

August 26:  Summer Bank Holiday (closures)

August 30–January 1 (likely):  Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)

September (all month):  Totally Thames, London (free events on the south bank of the Thames)

September 6–15:  Heritage Open Days (free entry to many historical sights across England)

September 13–17 (likely):  London Fashion Week

September 13–22:  Jane Austen Festival, Bath

September 20–29:  York Food and Drink Festival

October 2–5:  Leeds International Festival of Ideas (forward-looking arts and culture festival)

October 9–20:  BFI London Film Festival

November 5:  Guy Fawkes Night (fireworks, bonfires, effigy-burning of 1605 traitor Guy Fawkes)

November 9:  Lord Mayor's Show (traditional pageants in the City of London, including horse-drawn coach parades and fireworks)

November 10:  Remembrance Sunday (two minutes of silence at 11:00, people wear poppies on lapels, royals lay wreaths at Cenotaph on Whitehall in London for WWI dead)

November 16:  Glastonbury Carnival

Late November–mid-December:  Christmas festivals, across Britain; York's St. Nicholas Fayre and Keswick's Victorian Fayre are especially fun (markets, music, entertainment)

December 24–26:  Christmas holidays