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

2023

April 29–May 1:  Chimney Sweeps Festival, Rochester (Morris dancers, northwest of Canterbury)

May 1:  Early May Bank Holiday (closures)

May 12–21:  Bath Festival (music and literature)

May 23–27:  Chelsea Flower Show, London

May 26–June 11:  Bath Fringe Festival (alternative music, dance, and theater)

May 27:  Live at Leeds (city-wide music festival)

May 29:  Cooper's Hill Cheese Roll, Gloucester, Cotswolds

May 29:  Spring Bank Holiday (closures)

June 2–3:  Keswick Beer Festival (music, shows)

June 16–25:  Golowan Festival, Penzance (midsummer celebration)

June 17:  Trooping the Colour, London (King's birthday parade, with military bands and pageantry)

June 20–24:  Royal Ascot horse races, near Windsor

June 21–25:  Glastonbury Festival, Somerset (indie pop/rock music)

June 30–July 2:  Love Supreme, Sussex (jazz festival)

July 1:  London Pride Parade

July 3–16:  Wimbledon Tennis Championship, London

July 7–14:  Early Music Festival, York

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

July 21–23:  Tramlines Festival, Sheffield (indie rock and more)

July 27–30:  WOMAD Festival, Malmesbury (between Bath and Oxford; world music)

July 27–30:  Cambridge Folk Festival

August 4–7:  Pride Festival, Brighton

August 12–20:  Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival, Yorkshire

August 27–28:  Notting Hill Carnival, London (costumes, Caribbean music)

August 28:  Summer Bank Holiday (closures)

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

September 1–January 1:  Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)

September 8–17:  Heritage Open Days (free entry to many historical sights across England)

September 8–17:  Jane Austen Festival, Bath

September 27–30:  Leeds International Festival of Ideas (forward-looking arts and culture festival)

September 22–October 1:  York Food and Drink Festival

October 4–15 (likely):  BFI London Film Festival

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

November 11:  Lord Mayor's Show (traditional pageants in the City of London, including horse-drawn coach parades and fireworks)

November 12:  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 18:  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


2024

January 1:  New Year's Day (closures)

February 10–18 (likely):  Jorvik Viking Festival, York (costumed warriors, battles)

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

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

April 27–May 1 (likely):  Chimney Sweeps Festival, Rochester (Morris dancers, northwest of Canterbury)

May 6:  Early May Bank Holiday (closures)

May 10–19 (likely):  Bath Festival (music and literature)

May 20–28 (likely):  Chelsea Flower Show, London

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

May 25 (likely):  Live at Leeds (city-wide music festival)

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