Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in England
- 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, contact the Visit Britain office.
- 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
2020
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
February 14–18: London Fashion Week Festival
February 15–23: Jorvik Viking Festival, York (costumed warriors, battles)
March 29: Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race, southwest London
April 10–April 13: Easter Weekend (Good Friday through Easter Monday; closures)
April 30–May 9: Leeds International Festival (forward-looking arts and culture festival; includes Live at Leeds city-wide music festival on May 2)
Early May–early June (4 weeks): Plymouth History Festival
May 2–4: Chimney Sweeps Festival, Rochester (Morris dancers, northwest of Canterbury)
May 7–10: Keswick Jazz Festival
May 8: Early May Bank Holiday
May 15–24: Bath Festival (music and literature)
May 19–23: Chelsea Flower Show, London
May 22–June 7: Bath Fringe Festival (alternative music, dance, and theater)
May 24: Cooper's Hill Cheese Roll, Gloucester, Cotswolds
May 25: Spring Bank Holiday (closures)
June 13: Trooping the Colour, London (military bands and pageantry, Queen's birthday parade)
June 5–6: Keswick Beer Festival (music, shows)
June 16–20: Royal Ascot horse races, near Windsor
June 24–28: Glastonbury Festival, Somerset (indie pop/rock music)
June 27: London Pride Parade
Late June: Golowan Festival, Penzance (midsummer celebration)
June 29–July 12: Wimbledon Tennis Championship, London
July 3–5: Love Supreme, Sussex (jazz festival)
July 3–11: Early Music Festival, York
July 17–September 12: The Proms, London (series of classical-music performances in Royal Albert Hall)
July 30–August 2: Cambridge Folk Festival
July 31–August 2: Pride Festival, Brighton
July 31–August 2: Tramlines Festival, Sheffield (indie rock and more)
August 8–16 (likely): Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival (Yorkshire)
August 30–31: Notting Hill Carnival, London (costumes, Caribbean music)
August 31: Summer Bank Holiday (closures)
September 1–30 (likely): Totally Thames, London (free events on the south bank of the Thames)
September 4–November 8: Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)
September 11–20: Heritage Open Days (free entry to many historical sights across England)
September 11–20: Jane Austen Festival, Bath
Mid-September: London Fashion Week Festival
September 18–27 (likely): York Food and Drink Festival
October 7–18: BFI London Film Festival
November 5: Guy Fawkes Night (fireworks, bonfires, effigy-burning of 1605 traitor Guy Fawkes)
November 8: 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 14: Lord Mayor's Show (traditional pageants in the City of London, including horse-drawn coach parades and fireworks)
November 14 (likely): 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