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, 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
2023
Through January (2024): Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)
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
2024
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
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 (likely): 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 14–23 (likely): Golowan Festival, Penzance (midsummer celebration)
June 18–22: Royal Ascot horse races, near Windsor
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 (likely): 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 (likely): York Food and Drink Festival
September 25–28 (likely): Leeds International Festival of Ideas (forward-looking arts and culture festival)
October 2–13 (likely): 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 (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