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
2024
Through mid-December: Christmas festivals, across Britain; York's St. Nicholas Fayre and Keswick's Victorian Fayre are especially fun (markets, music, entertainment)
Through January 5, 2025: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Christmas in Leicester Square, Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)
December 24–26: Christmas holidays
2025
January 1: New Year's Day (closures)
Through January 5: Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)
Through January 5: Christmas in Leicester Square
Through January 5: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
February 17–23: Jorvik Viking Festival, York (costumed warriors, battles)
April 13: Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race, southwest London
April 18–21: Easter Weekend (Good Friday through Easter Monday; closures)
May 3–5 (likely): Chimney Sweeps Festival, Rochester (Morris dancers, northwest of Canterbury)
May 5: Early May Bank Holiday (closures)
May 16–25: Bath Festival (music and literature)
May 20–24: Chelsea Flower Show, London
May 23–June 8: Bath Fringe Festival (alternative music, dance, and theater)
May 24: Live at Leeds in the Park (music festival)
May 26: Spring Bank Holiday (closures); also Cooper's Hill Cheese Roll, Gloucester, Cotswolds
June 6–7: Keswick Beer Festival (music, shows)
June 14: Trooping the Colour, London (King's birthday parade, with military bands and pageantry)
June 17–21: Royal Ascot horse races, near Windsor
June 20–29 (likely): Golowan Festival, Penzance (midsummer celebration)
June 25–29: Glastonbury Festival, Somerset (indie pop/rock music)
June 28 (likely): London Pride Parade
June 30–July 13: Wimbledon Tennis Championship, London
July 4–6: Love Supreme, Sussex (jazz festival)
July 4–11: Early Music Festival, York
Mid-July–mid-September: The Proms, London (series of classical-music performances in Royal Albert Hall)
July 24–27: WOMAD Festival, Malmesbury (between Bath and Oxford; world music)
July 25–27: Tramlines Festival, Sheffield (indie rock and more)
July 31–Aug 3: Cambridge Folk Festival
August 2–3: Pride Festival, Brighton
August 9–17 (likely): Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival, Yorkshire
August 24–25: Notting Hill Carnival, London (costumes, Caribbean music)
August 25: Summer Bank Holiday (closures)
August 29–January 5, 2026 (likely): Blackpool Illuminations (waterfront light festival)
September (all month): Totally Thames, London (free events on the south bank of the Thames)
September 12–21: Heritage Open Days (free entry to many historical sights across England)
September 13–22: Jane Austen Festival, Bath
September 18–22: London Fashion Week
September 19–28: York Food and Drink Festival
October 1–4 (likely): Leeds International Festival of Ideas (forward-looking arts and culture festival)
October 8–19 (likely): BFI London Film Festival
November 5: Guy Fawkes Night (fireworks, bonfires, effigy-burning of 1605 traitor Guy Fawkes)
November 8: Lord Mayor's Show (traditional pageants in the City of London, including horse-drawn coach parades and fireworks)
November 9: 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 15 (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